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A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 4 deceMber 2017

Ireland hopeful of ‘momentum’ on key Brexit border issue

IBy JILL LAWLESS But as the divorce talks hit
Associated Press a crucial stage, divisions
LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s within Britain’s governing
foreign minister said Sun- Conservative Party over
day that he’s hopeful Brit- the EU are limiting the room
ain’s proposals for manag- May has to maneuver.
ing Ireland’s border after Lobbying group Leave
the U.K. leaves the Europe- Means Leave told May in a
an Union will generate the letter that she must refuse
momentum to push stalled to compromise on sev-
Brexit negotiations to their eral points, such as ensur-
next phase. ing that European Court
Foreign Minister Simon Co- of Justice jurisdiction over
veney told Ireland’s RTE ra- Britain ends on the day the
dio he hopes a crucial U.K.- country officially out of the
EU meeting on Monday EU in 2019.
yields enough progress to Several high-profile Con-
“allow this Brexit negotia- servative lawmakers
tion process to open up to signed the letter, including
phase two of discussions,” former Cabinet ministers
focusing on future relations Nigel Lawson and Owen
and trade. Paterson.
The EU has given Britain a Britain hopes the EU will
Monday deadline to pro- agree to a two-year tran-
duce concrete proposals sition period after Brexit,
on the key issues in their but the bloc has insisted
divorce talks, including Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, right, arrives for a summit in Brussels. Coveney told Ireland’s the Court of Justice would
maintaining an open bor- RTE radio on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, he’s hopeful British proposals on the Irish border will generate have to retain its authority
enough momentum to push Brexit talks past their stalled first stage and on to trade talks.
der between Northern Ire- (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) in Britain during that time.
land and the Irish republic. A senior German mem-
British Prime Minister There- 15 summit in Brussels. the EU’s single market and The two sides are reported- ber of the European Par-
sa May is due to meet Eu- May’s government has customs union in March ly close to a deal on other liament, David McAllis-
ropean Commission chief said there will be no “hard 2019. Ireland and other EU big issues, including the size ter, said Sunday that he
Jean-Claude Juncker to border” between EU mem- countries still want to know of the bill that Britain must thought there was a “50-
lay out the proposals that ber Ireland and Northern how customs checkpoints pay for departing the bloc 50” chance of a break-
will be considered by EU Ireland, which is part of the and other typical border and the rights of citizens af- through in the negotiations
leaders before a Dec. 14- U.K., once Britain leaves activities can be avoided. fected by Brexit. this month.q

Saakashvili calls for protest camp in Kiev

MOSCOW (AP) — Mikheil call for an encampment ure in the 2003 Rose Revo- corruption suffered official balaclava masks blocked
Saakashvili, the former at Kiev’s Independence lution protests in Georgia obstruction. the entrance to the only
president of Georgia who Square during a rally that that ousted the country’s His Ukrainian citizenship Ukrainian television station
has emerged as an anti- news reports said attract- president. He then served was revoked this year that covered Saakashvili’s
corruption campaigner, ed 2,500 people. as president for nearly a when he was out of the rally. They demanded that
urged Ukrainians Sunday The idea has symbolic reso- decade. country, but he returned in the station change its edi-
to set up a protest camp in nance because the square He left Georgia in 2013 and September after support- torial policies and that its
Kiev’s main square if parlia- was the center of the mass later was appointed gov- ers broke through a police owner, parliament mem-
ment fails to adopt a law protests that drove out ernor of Ukraine’s Odessa line at the Polish border. ber Yegeny Murayev, apol-
on presidential impeach- Ukraine’s pro-Russian presi- region. But he quit that of- Several hours after Sun- ogize for remarks that they
ment within a week. dent in 2014. fice in 2016, complaining day’s rally, about 150 peo- regarded as disrespectful
Saakashvili issued the Saakashvili was a key fig- that his efforts to root out ple in camouflage and of the 2014 Kiev protests.q