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Michel Barnier said the backstop – the insurance policy designed to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland – represented the “maximum flexibility” the EU could offer a non-member state.
The Irish backstop has become the main sticking point in the Brexit negotiations, with some Brexiters concerned that it could keep Britain in the EU customs union for an indefinite amount of time and prevent it from striking its own trade deals. [...]
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Barnier said: “On the EU side, we had intense discussions with EU member states on the need to guarantee the integrity of the EU’s single market, while keeping that border fully open.
“In this sense, the backstop is the maximum amount of flexibility that the EU can offer to a non-member state.”
Barnier said he was “not optimistic” that a no-deal Brexit could be avoided, but added: “We should all continue to work with determination”. [...]