NI could become 'Common Regulatory Area' after Brexit

A “common regulatory area” between the European Union and Northern Ireland could be established after Brexit.

This is according to a draft agreement published by the European Commission, which was released in Brussels by chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Wednesday 28 February.

It proposes that there would be no internal borders on the whole island of Ireland and there would be free movement of goods between NI and the Republic of Ireland.

The draft agreement also suggests that EU and UK customs authorities should both oversee movements between NI and the British mainland.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has rejected said she will not agree to the draft agreement drawn up by the European Commission.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mrs May said the draft legal text would “undermine the UK common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, and no UK prime minster could ever agree to it.”

It comes just days before the Prime Minister is to set out her vision of post-Brexit relations, which will occur on Friday 2 March.

DUP leader Arlene Foster has also responded to the draft text, calling it "constitutionally unacceptable" and that the proposals put forward would be "economically catastrophic."