Jean-Claude Juncker has voiced his concerns that the Stormont veto in Boris Johnson’s plans for the Irish border could see arrangements designed to keep the peace collapse as early as the end of 2020. During a phone call with the prime minister, the European commission president highlighted the risk that the UK’s plans could unravel within 15 months, and set the communities in Northern Ireland against each other. Quick guide Why is the Irish border a stumbling block for Brexit? Britain’s exit from the EU – taking Northern Ireland with it – risks a return to a hard or policed border. The commission said Juncker had praised Johnson’s “determination” and “acknowledged the positive advances, notably with regards to the full regulatory alignment for all goods and the control of goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain”.

Source: The Guardian October 02, 2019 13:31 UTC