Theresa May says EU proposals on Irish border still 'totally unacceptable' ahead of crucial Salzburg Brexit summit

Theresa May says EU plans for the Irish border after Brexit remain “totally unacceptable”, putting the two sides on a collision course ahead of crucial talks in Austria.

Ahead of arriving in Salzburg, the prime appeared to dismiss a new EU offer, which Brussels hoped would “de-dramatise” the border issue and pave the way for an agreement.

The EU has promised “improved” proposals for its “backstop” to effectively keep Northern Ireland in the single market and customs union, if that is necessary to avoid a hard land border.

Checks on goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland would be carried out away from ports, to ensure the Irish Sea “is not a border”, said Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator.

But, ahead of meeting other EU leaders in the Austrian city, Ms May said: “No side can demand something totally unacceptable from the other, such as an external border between parts of the UK.”

Without an agreement on the backstop, there can be no Brexit deal, despite a growing expectation that it will be signed at an emergency summit in November.

In an article, for a German newspaper, the prime minister made no mention of Mr Barnier’s adapted proposals, which would see most checks take place at company premises, or at the point of sale.

Instead, she again made the case for her Chequers proposals, although the EU has rejected both the UK collecting customs tariffs on its behalf and remaining aligned on goods but not services.

On the backstop, Ms May wrote: “We will also honour our commitment to ensuring that there is a legally binding protocol on Northern Ireland, but this protocol must preserve the Good Friday Agreement in its entirety and respect the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom, which the Commission proposal does not.”

She insisted further compromise by Brussels was needed, after the UK “developed its position”, writing: “In order to achieve a good result, the EU now has to do so.”

The prime minister has accepted a “backstop” in principle, but has said it must be time-limited and apply across the UK as a whole.

Crucially, despite the EU’s attempts to take some of the heat out of the controversy with softer language, it is still proposing that Northern Ireland, alone, maintains EU rules.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, rammed home the point in Dublin, saying: “As things stand, we are planning for a situation in 2021 where there will need to be east-west checks and controls, though not between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.”

Privately, No 10 accepts the two sides are still a long way from a deal on the border – while drafting of a blueprint for a future trading relationship has barely begun.

In Salzburg, the prime minister will be given a few moments to set out her Brexit plans at working dinner with other EU leaders, where she will again urge them to accept her Chequers proposals.

But she will be absent on Thursday, when the EU27 reconvene to discuss their stance over lunch on Thursday, when they will be joined by Mr Barnier.

The special November summit is likely to be officially announced, alongside a welcome for some of the Chequers proposals – but not, crucially, on trade.