Irish Times view on Brexit negotiations: stretching trust and ingenuity
Brussels and Dublin willing to test out Theresa May’s willingness to proceed with more intense negotiations over the summer
British prime minister Theresa May in the middle of a political confrontation with hard Brexiteers in her Conservative party. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Pool via Reuters
Theresa May’s call in Belfast yesterday on European Union representatives to “evolve their positions” on negotiating Brexit in response to her government’s White Paper setting out its proposals invites them to trust her ability to deliver an eventual agreement. That is a tall order coming just after she said the UK cannot continue to support the backstop position she signed in December last guaranteeing Northern Ireland’s continued participation in the EU’s customs union and single market should no agreement be reached. Trust is needed on both sides if the talks are to succeed.
May is still in the middle of a political confrontation with hard Brexiteers in her Conservative party that she must win if the softer Brexit both she and the EU side prefer is to be agreed. It has been impossible to make proper progress with the talks while her party conducted this parallel negotiation with itself. Since her cabinet met at Chequers two weeks ago to agree on the proposals contained in the subsequent White Paper, two major and several minor ministers have resigned and she has struggled desperately to maintain her slim parliamentary majority. This week she made concessions to the hard Brexiteers, including a crucial one ruling a specific Northern Ireland backstop unlawful.