Britain's Brexit secretary, David Davis, is working on a plan to give Northern Ireland joint EU and U.K. status and a border buffer zone to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit, The (London) Sun reported.
Northern Ireland will operate under the regimes of both EU and British regulations to allow it to trade freely with both sides under the plan. Davis is also drawing a 10-mile wide buffer zone along the border dividing Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for local traders such as dairy farmers.
The proposal would meet the EU's demand of a frictionless border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but risks angering the Democratic Unionist Party, whose support is necessary for British Prime Minister Theresa May's minority government.
The new plan is a major overhaul of the maximum facilitation option, in which the U.K. proposed the use of technology to keep the border open without the need for actual customs checks. Another option being considered is a new customs partnership between the two sides, in which U.K. would cooperate more closely with the EU and collect tariffs on its behalf.
