June deadline set for Northern Ireland Brexit solution - Reuter

According to reporting by Reuters, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has set a deadline for progress on Brexit concerns arising from Northern Ireland's border issues. Le Drian says that progress must be made before the June summit of EU leaders.

Key quotes

"Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis told a British parliamentary committee in April that an EU demand for progress by June on the Irish border issue, a major sticking point in Brexit talks, was an “artificial deadline.”

But at a news conference in Dublin with Irish counterpart Simon Coveney, Le Drian said the issue could not be delayed.

“The June deadline is the deadline that must be seen as the ultimate deadline” to find a way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and allow progress in Brexit talks, Le Drian said.

Northern Ireland will be Britain’s only land frontier with the EU after its leaves the bloc and while both sides say they are committed to keeping the border with Ireland open, but finding a practical solution has proved elusive so far."