Polish foreign minister proposes time-limited Brexit backstop
Poland has become the first member state to break ranks with the EU's position on Brexit after the country's foreign minister suggested that a time limit could be placed on the Irish backstop.
In an interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Jacek Czaputowicz said that the backstop could be limited to five years in order for the Brexit impasse to be resolved.
He said that while this proposal would be less beneficial for Ireland than an indefinite backstop, it would be a more favourable option than a no-deal Brexit which he believes is "inevitably approaching".
"We need bold action," he told the paper.
Mr Czaputowicz said the UK and Ireland were playing "a game of chicken" which would lead to "a frontal collision" unless a compromise was made.
Earlier, the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier insisted that the EU would work together as one team to negotiate Brexit.
Mr Barnier ruled out a bilateral agreement between the UK and Ireland to remove the backstop from the withdrawal agreement, and dismissed reports that such a deal could be negotiated.
He said the current deal was the best one possible, and that the EU was willing to work again on the political declaration and to be "more ambitious" on this.
