Ireland: no alternative for backstop

Ireland sees no possibility to replace the backstop arrangement for the Irish border with an alternative, as the British Parliament wants.

The British parliament voted Tuesday for a motion asking for the backstop to be replaced by 'alternative arrangements. 'Prime Minister Theresa May supported that proposal and aroused resentment at Coveney. 'Unfortunately, she advised her party to vote against her own deal,' says the Irish minister. He calls it 'exceptional' that the British government deducts its hands from its own deal with the EU.