Britain is close to clinching a deal with the European Union over the Northern Ireland border, a step that would pave the way for Brussels to offer a two-year Brexit transition deal as early as January, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday. Avoiding a so-called “hard border” on the island of Ireland that many fear could disrupt the peace in Northern Ireland is the last major hurdle before Brexit talks can move to negotiations on Britain’s future trade relationship with the EU. The border between EU-member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, will be the UK’s only land frontier with the bloc after Brexit. But complicating any resolution of the issue is British Prime Minister Theresa May’s reliance on a small Northern Irish party for her parliamentary majority in London. The role of both Irish nationalist and pro-British unionist parties from Northern Ireland in the Brexit talks has been hampered by their failure to restore the province’s devolved power-sharing government since its collapse almost a year ago.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 30, 2017 09:56 UTC