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Investors have cut their sterling short positions on the receding risks of a no-deal Brexit

Sterling hits 7-week high as no-deal Brexit fears ease

Sterling extended the last week's dramatic rally today as investors pounced on a media report that Northern Ireland's largest political party had agreed to accept some European Union rules after Brexit.

Business • 13 Sep 19

DUP leader Arlene Foster insists the party will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade

Foster denies DUP set to make concessions on Brexit

DUP leader Arlene Foster has dismissed a report that the party will offer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a lifeline to help him unlock a Brexit deal.

Brexit • 13 Sep 19

Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds met the British Prime Minister in Downing Street this evening

Johnson rejects Northern Ireland-only backstop - DUP

The DUP has said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected the idea of a Northern Ireland-only backstop during a meeting this evening at Downing Street.

Brexit • 11 Sep 19

Simon Coveney said nothing credible had come from the UK regarding the backstop

Coveney tells Raab: Show us viable alternatives

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has urged his British counterpart to bring forward any viable alternatives to the backstop as soon as possible, his spokesman said following a 45-minute meeting between the pair.

Brexit • 30 Aug 19

The backstop is designed to prevent a hard borer on the island of Ireland

What is the backstop?

The backstop remains the biggest obstacle for Brexit negotiations with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting the mechanism must be scrapped from the Withdrawal Agreement but the EU is refusing to remove the backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement.

Brexit • 28 Aug 19

Phil Hogan says the UK needs to "get real" about the backstop

UK needs to 'get real' about backstop - Hogan

The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, has said the EU will "not buckle" in the face of a no-deal Brexit.

Brexit • 21 Aug 19

Simon Coveney said the EU wanted to avoid a no-deal Brexit

Withdrawal Agreement not up for renegotiation - Coveney

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that the EU's position on the Withdrawal Agreement remains unchanged.

Brexit • 19 Jul 19

The report suggests that such an arrangement would mean remove the need for customs, food safety and animal health checks between north and south, or between the island of Ireland and Great Britain

Report suggests new agri-food area for Ireland, UK

A new shared food safety and animal health area taking in the island of Ireland and the island of Great Britain as a whole should be created to prevent the Irish backstop taking effect, according to a report by a UK non-government body of MPs, academics, trade and customs experts.

Brexit • 24 Jun 19

The report documents a range of cross-border activity that goes beyond the technical and fiscal aspects of customs and single market regulations

EU report highlights scale of north-south cooperation

The European Commission has circulated a document that explores in detail the scale and breadth of all areas of north-south cooperation that will potentially be disrupted by Brexit.

Ireland • 20 Jun 19

The DUP believes binding NI to single market rules would undermine the constitutional integrity of the Union

DUP urges May to demand backstop changes from EU

The DUP has urged the government to return to Brussels to demand changes that would make the backstop acceptable to the British parliament.

Brexit • 29 Mar 19

Theresa May said the choices facing the UK were "unenviable"

Theresa May's revised Brexit deal rejected by MPs

Theresa May's Brexit strategy has been dealt a devastating blow after the House of Commons rejected her EU Withdrawal Agreement by an overwhelming majority for the second time.

Brexit • 13 Mar 19

Michel Barnier is understood to have said proposals put forward by Geoffrey Cox on the backstop were not acceptable

EU downbeat over UK AG's Brexit backstop proposals

British and EU officials are continuing technical talks on the Irish backstop in Brussels today, despite a downbeat assessment by the EU's chief Brexit negotiator of proposals put forward by the UK's Attorney General.

Brexit • 07 Mar 19

Beleaguered British prime minister Theresa May was not in the House of Commons for the result of yesterday's vote

Divisions continue as May to pursue Brexit strategy

The British government has said UK Prime Minister Theresa May will continue with her strategy of seeking changes to the Northern Ireland backstop in the EU Withdrawal Agreement.

Brexit • 15 Feb 19

Brexit Republic: Episode Twenty Seven

Brexit Republic • 14 Feb 19

Leo Varadkar spoke to Theresa May by phone today

UK developments reinforce need for backstop - Varadkar

The Taoiseach has said the latest developments at Westminster have reinforced the need for a Brexit backstop that is "legally robust and workable in practice."

Brexit • 30 Jan 19

Westminster and Brussels differ on plans to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement

Brexit - What happens next?

After British MPs gave their backing to proposals to replace the controversial Irish backstop in Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal deal, here's a look at what could happen next in the Brexit saga.

Brexit • 30 Jan 19

Brexit: What is the backstop?

How to keep the Irish border free-flowing has proved to be the toughest issue to resolve in negotiating Britain's exit from the European Union.

Brexit • 29 Jan 19

Voting took place on a series of amendments in the House of Commons

MPs vote to replace Irish backstop with 'alternatives'

British Prime Minister Theresa May is to go back to the EU to try to renegotiate her Brexit deal after MPs gave their backing to proposals to replace the backstop.

Brexit • 29 Jan 19

Simon Coveney said the Polish minister's remarks did not reflect EU thinking

Coveney dismisses Polish suggestion to limit backstop

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said the Withdrawal Agreement is not up for renegotiation and he dismissed the call by the Polish Foreign Minister for a five-year limit on the backstop as not reflecting the EU position.

Brexit • 21 Jan 19

Boris Johnson being interviewed by Caitríona Perry for RTÉ's Six One News

'Be bold and brave' - Johnson urges border co-operation

Former British foreign secretary Boris Johnson has criticised the backstop proposal in the Brexit agreement, but said the UK does not want a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Brexit • 11 Jan 19

Dramatic Brexit week leaves us none the wiser

Europe Editor Tony Connelly writes that after one of the most dramatic weeks yet, we are none the wiser about the Brexit endgame.

Brexit • 15 Dec 18

Arlene Foster says there is no evidence that the current Brexit deal will be passed by parliament

DUP to 'revisit' support for govt if Brexit deal passed

DUP leader Arlene Foster has warned that the deal propping up British Prime Minister Theresa May's government would be at risk if the current Brexit deal is passed.

Brexit • 24 Nov 18

Theresa May updated European Council president Donald Tusk on the situation this morning

May under pressure to publish legal advice on backstop

British Prime Minister Theresa May is under intense pressure to publish the legal advice behind her Brexit plan as Labour, Tory Eurosceptics and the Democratic Unionist Party line up against her.

Brexit • 07 Nov 18

EU Commissioner Phil Hogan said the UK cannot be allowed to 'cherry-pick' the single market

Hogan hopeful of Brexit deal in coming weeks

Ireland's EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has said he is still hopeful of a Brexit deal, but has warned that a UK-wide customs union with the EU would not be a replacement for this Northern Ireland-specific backstop.

Brexit • 26 Oct 18

Brexit: A brief history of the backstop

Europe Editor Tony Connelly traces the formation of the backstop and how it grew into the most intractable source of conflict in the lengthy Brexit negotiations.

Brexit • 20 Oct 18

Backstop