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A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 9 March 2018

EU's Tusk: No Brexit progress without Irish border solution

LONDON (AP) — European suggestion, which is to keep
Council President Don- Northern Ireland inside the
ald Tusk warned Britain on bloc's customs union after
Thursday that there can't the rest of the U.K. leaves it.
be progress toward a post- Prime Minister Theresa May
Brexit trade deal until the has said that would under-
issue of the Irish border is mine the constitutional in-
resolved. tegrity of the U.K.
Tusk said that until the U.K. Speaking alongside Irish
presents a plan to keep Prime Minister Leo Varad-
the all-but-invisible border kar in Dublin, Tusk said Brit-
open, "it is very difficult to ain must propose "a spe-
imagine substantive prog- cific and realistic solution
ress in Brexit negotiations." to avoid a hard border" or
After Britain leaves the bloc there can be no progress in
in 2019, the border separat- other areas of the negotia-
ing Northern Ireland from tions.
the Republic of Ireland will "If in London someone as-
be the only land frontier sumes the negotiations will
between the U.K. and an deal with other issues first,
EU member country. before the Irish issue, my
Britain and the EU agreed in response would be: Ireland
December that there must first," he said.
be no customs posts or Britain and the EU have a
other impediments along deadline of this fall to strike
the 30-mile (500-kilometer) a deal so that national
border, but they have not parliaments can approve
agreed on how to achieve EU Council president Donald Tusk, right, arrives for talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at it before the U.K. officially
that. Government Buildings in Dublin Thursday March 8, 2018. leaves the 28-nation bloc
Britain has rejected the EU's (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) on March 29, 2019.q

UK trade minister slams talk of Brexit punishment by EU

By PAN PYLAS Brexit can work for all con- since the June 2016 refer- much uncertainty hangs Britain would stick closely to
Associated Press cerned if discussions are endum that it's not look- over what happens next EU laws and regulations in
LONDON (AP) — One of the focused on economic mat- ing to punish Britain for its and that's raised fears that certain sectors but be able
British government's biggest ters rather than politics. vote and is working to get tariffs will be slapped on to diverge in others.
Brexit cheerleaders has tak- "The idea of punishing Brit- a deal on the future rela- British goods and the key That ambition has been dis-
en aim at those in the Eu- ain is not the language of a tionship that works for both services sector will face missed by many in the EU
ropean Union he accuses club, it's the language of a sides but which is consistent wide-ranging restrictions. as "cherry-picking."
of looking to punish Britain gang," he said at the annu- with its rules. Discussions over the rela- Though conceding that
for its decision to leave the al conference of the British Chuka Umunna, a promi- tionship are set to intensify tariffs would hurt businesses
bloc as exhibiting gang-like Chambers of Commerce. nent lawmaker in the op- over the coming months and consumers, Fox dis-
tendencies. "And I do believe that ratio- position Labour Party who is and are earmarked to con- missed warnings that Britain
As Brexit talks appear to nality, common sense will advocating Britain remain- clude by the fall to give was facing an "economic
have hit an impasse partic- win the day if we conduct ing part of the tariff-free parliaments time to assess black hole" after Brexit.
ularly over what happens ourselves with decorum single market and customs any deal. "There are great prizes for
to the border between Ire- and patience and I think union, said Fox's remarks Prime Minister Theresa May our economy as we leave
land and Northern Ireland, therefore it's in all our inter- were nothing more than fleshed out proposals for the EU in this era of global-
International Trade Secre- ests to keep the tempera- "playground speak." the post-Brexit relationship ization if we have the cour-
tary Liam Fox told U.K. busi- ture down." Though Britain is due to in a speech last week. At its age to grasp them," he
ness leaders Thursday that The EU has consistently said leave the EU in March 2019, core was an aspiration that said.q