Brexit deal removes bottleneck but Border quandary remains
Deal cementing no-hard-Border ‘backstop’ pleases Irish while British mull other options
A billboard in west Belfast. The British are still hoping that a close trading agreement on a permanent trading relationship between the EU and the UK can avoid a hard border. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
If Britain’s rejection of the European Union’s draft Brexit treaty last month was them storming off the pitch after a perceived unfair tackle, the latest agreement should be seen as both sides returning to the field of play.
The EU side, including the Irish, were puzzled by London’s response to the draft withdrawal text late last month given that it simply put into legal wording the political deal to which the UK agreed in December.