Labour leader Brendan Howlin has claimed that the prospect of postponing the issue of the Irish “backstop” is being discussed in the Brexit talks as negotiations enter a critical phase. Mr Howlin said he had been talking to colleagues in the Party of European Socialists and had heard such a suggestion from a “variety of sources”. The EU says the backstop - which would avoid a hard border in Ireland by aligning Northern Ireland to the EU single market and customs union if no wider EU-UK deal is reached - must be included in the Brexit withdrawal agreement. The agreement was expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, but the talks have become stuck on the backstop. “Talking to colleagues across Europe, I now hear for the first time, that there are actually suggestions being made that the Irish backstop issue be postponed.

Source: The Irish Times October 16, 2018 13:03 UTC