They also said the bare-bones customs union in the backstop need not be the basis of a future deal, even if the UK did fall into the arrangement owing to the lack of an alternative plan. Juncker and Tusk offered May a helping hand by emphasising that Brussels would regard such a customs union to be a “suboptimal” trading relationship if it is triggered. The letter’s further insistence that a customs union need not be the permanent solution for avoiding a hard border will be welcomed by Downing Street. “The European commission also shares your intentions for the future relationship to be in place as quickly as possible,” the EU officials wrote. The future The document is accompanied by a political declaration that sketches out the future relationship between the two parties – focusing primarily on trade and security.

Source: The Guardian January 14, 2019 11:37 UTC