LONDON (Sputnik) — UK Prime Minister Theresa May assured her Irish counterpart Wednesday she would offer a tailored approach to the Northern Ireland border issue as she negotiates the end of EU membership, her office said.
"The Prime Minister said we are working hard to find a specific solution to the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland," the statement read.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Brussels for the final round of Brexit talks within the first stage of the negotiations. Soon after that Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar confirmed the reports about the European Union and the United Kingdom reaching an agreement on the post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which met Dublin's concerns and, in fact, maintained Northern Ireland within the single market and customs union.
Meanwhile, after the reports about a possible deal for Norther Ireland, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated that London and Scotland, that voted for the United Kingdom's remaining within the European Union at the 2016 referendum, should obtain the same status as Northern Ireland, that would allow for a continued membership in the single market and customs union.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, the leaders eventually agreed there should be no hard border between the EU member state and UK’s Northern Ireland territory after the United Kingdom exits the European Union in March 2019.
Brexit negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union officially started on June 19, and are due to be completed by the end of March 2019. Aside from discussions on the Irish border, Brussels and London are engaged in talks focusing on the rights of EU citizens residing in the United Kingdom and the cost of Brexit, among other topics.
