Arlene Foster SKEWERS EU over ‘entirely unacceptable’ Brexit plan for Irish border

ARLENE Foster has blasted the EU Commission for its “entirely unacceptable” Brexit plans amid eurocrat demands to keep Northern Ireland under the rule of Brussels after the nation exits the crumbling superstate, it has been reported.

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The DUP leader made the remarks after the European Commission's draft text for the UK's withdrawal agreement was revealed to set out in legal terms plans for the establishment of a "common regulatory area" between the EU and Northern Ireland.

While speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference in London earlier this week, Mrs Foster said: “The commission’s draft text is entirely unacceptable and actually represents an act of bad faith on the part of Brussels towards addressing the challenges facing the border in a fair and sensible fashion.”

Mrs Foster also spoke of how she told the EU chief Michel Barnier that there must not be an internal border within the UK and that they must not accept anything that will undermine the integrity of the union including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

She also argued that it was not in Ireland’s interest to have any post-Brexit impediments to trade.

Mrs Foster argued the UK was critical to the existence of a well-functioning Irish economy.

The DUP leader said: “When we met with Michel Barnier on Tuesday one of the issues we brought to his attention were the concerns being raised with us by Republic of Ireland-based companies who are terrified by idea that the European Union wants a new border in the Irish Sea.

“When I talk about the border in a Brexit scenario, I don’t speak about some far away land. I speak about home.

“I don’t want to see a hard border. I want to see an optimistic, sensible and pragmatic approach to Brexit.”

Mrs Foster also called for people to be optimistic Brexit, highlighting that the “doom and gloom” predictions over the UK’s decision to leave the EU had not yet come to pass.

She claimed that experts had been wrong to expect the economy to go into a “tailspin of depression”.

Her words have come after EU guidelines released earlier this week said Brexit “will inevitably lead to frictions” and that differences in tariffs, rules and institutions would require “checks and controls” that “unfortunately will have negative economic consequences”.

The EU Commission’s draft text for the UK's withdrawal agreement calls for an area spanning the whole island of Ireland with no internal borders and free movement of goods.

And it suggests that EU and UK customs authorities should jointly oversee movements between Northern Ireland and the British mainland, while Europe would retain control over aspects of taxation and state aid in the six counties.

However, Prime Minister Theresa May has said “no prime minister could ever agree” to the EU’s draft treaty as she accused Brussels of attempting to “annexe” Northern Ireland.