Arlene Foster, the leader of the Northern Irish Unionist party, the DUP, an ally of British Prime Minister, Theresa May, said in Brussels on Tuesday 6 March that the plans to resolve the Irish question presented by the European Commission on 28 February (see EUROPE 11971) were unacceptable.
The DUP leader was in Brussels to meet the EU's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, whom she told that the EU had no right to propose a solution that consisted of keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union and the single market. According to reports in the British media, she even said that Barnier had overstepped his role and delivered a proposal that does not entirely reflect the provisional joint agreement of 8 December, which was approved between Jean-Claude Juncker and May.
She described her meeting with Barnier as “constructive”, but said that the EU would have to show more “flexibility” to resolve the Irish question. She said that she expected the British government to table proposals.
On the European side, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, will meet the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, on Thursday 8 March. The day before, he will be in Luxembourg, alongside the Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, to present the draft guidelines of the Twenty-Seven on the future relationship between London and the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)