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The French government has urged Britain to sign up to the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement.<\/p>\nThe French government has urged Britain to sign up to the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement.<\/p>\n
Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin visited the border on Friday and said she had seen at first hand the importance of an ordered Brexit to protect the bloc\u2019s internal market and the Irish peace process.<\/p>\n
Frontrunner for the Conservative Party leadership Boris Johnson has said he wants to scrap the border backstop which stymied efforts to get Prime Minister Theresa May\u2019s proposed solution through Westminster.<\/p>\n
Ms de Montchalin said: \u201cTo protect the integrity of the internal market and to have the peace process and the Irish concerns being overcome, the best thing we have on the table is the Withdrawal Agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very important to see the necessity, more than ever, of this agreement and this ordered Brexit to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
She visited the invisible frontier at Ravensdale in Co Louth, where differences in road markings are the only visible sign, as well as a local farm.<\/p>\n
Her D\u00e1il counterpart, Helen McEntee, said checks following a no-deal Brexit would be \u201csub-optimal\u201d to the backstop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best way to avoid all of that is for the UK to ratify the withdrawal Agreement, an agreement which they helped to negotiate and which really addresses a lot of their concerns as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The DUP opposed Parliament\u2019s ratification of Mrs May\u2019s draft Withdrawal Agreement earlier this year over concerns surrounding the backstop insurance policy.<\/p>\n
That would see Northern Ireland remain aligned to EU regulations after the UK\u2019s withdrawal to prevent the imposition of a hard border on the island.<\/p>\n
Unionists want it to be time-limited but proponents of the measure argue that to impose a cut-off point would make it a meaningless guarantee.<\/p>\n
Both sides agree a full trade agreement between the UK and EU would be preferable.<\/p>\n
The Democratic Unionists believe the backstop would threaten the integrity of the UK and Northern Ireland\u2019s seamless links with Great Britain.<\/p>\n