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EU's Barnier questions UK's 'backstop' customs plan

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EU's Barnier questions UK's 'backstop' customs plan

European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier has questioned Britain's proposed backstop plan to keep the U.K. within the EU's common customs area for up to an extra year after Brexit in order to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

"Let me be very clear, our backstop [solution] cannot be extended to the whole U.K.," Barnier said in a news conference, adding that the EU was only considering such an arrangement for Northern Ireland.

"What is feasible for a territory the size of Northern Ireland is not necessarily feasible for the whole U.K." he said.

Under the U.K.'s proposal, the country would continue to apply the same customs rules as the EU for up to a year after a nearly two-year transition period following its planned withdrawal from the bloc in March 2019. The temporary customs arrangement would only remain in place until a new and longer-term arrangement is agreed upon, which the U.K. expects by the end of December 2021 at the latest.

Barnier said that while he was willing to consider the proposal that the U.K. remain in the customs union, this could not be "time limited."

Britain's proposal "raises more questions than it provides answers," he said. The EU will also examine whether the proposal "respects the integrity" of the EU customs union and single market, to which there should be no "a la carte" access, Barnier added.

"We need regulatory alignment to avoid a hard border," he said.