In what could be a major concession to the U.K., key members of the European Union have held discussions on introducing a time limit to the so-called Irish backstop, the central conundrum in the Brexit negotiations, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The proposed time limit for the backstop has yet to be included in the formal negotiations with the U.K., but the French and German governments have discussed the matter, the report said.
A spokesman for the European Commission denied that the EU was already considering the proposal, adding that the bloc was still awaiting "legally operational" solutions from the U.K., according to the report.
The backstop is a part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement struck by the EU with former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May. It seeks to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU and prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland until a long-term solution can be found.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who plans to crash the U.K. out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a Brexit deal, wants to remove the backstop from any new withdrawal agreement, saying it could indefinitely lock the country in EU customs rules.
Johnson does not oppose a time-limited backstop, according to the Bloomberg News report. However, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is unlikely to accept the proposed arrangement, an EU diplomat reportedly said.
