EU ready to agree to 'frictionless border deal' - report

The European Union is preparing to accept a Brexit deal involving a frictionless Irish border, according to a report on Monday, though UK Prime Minister Theresa May is not convinced.

Confidential diplomatic notes show that the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier is working on a new “protocol” text that outlines plans to use technology to reduce border checks, The Times reported.

The plan would include using barcodes on shipping containers under a “trusted-trader” scheme that would remove the need for new infrastructure at the border post-Brexit.

However, May, who heads to Salzburg on Wednesday for a crucial EU summit, has rejected this solution as it would give Northern Ireland a different status from the rest of the UK, creating a border in the Irish Sea.

May's Chequers blueprint for Brexit would effectively keep the UK in the single market and the customs union for goods, which is one of reasons why some Tory eurosceptics are still opposed to the plan, claiming it could harm Britain’s opportunities to strike trade deals with non-EU countries.

The Irish border issue has been a major obstacle on the road to Brexit. After the proposed “backstop” option that would force Northern Ireland to remain aligned to the EU’s single market and inside the customs union area caused backlash from Tory Brexiteers, the border issue has since been in a rut.

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote in The Telegraph on Sunday that if the UK were to follow Theresa May it would be heading towards “a spectacular political car crash”.

Last week May almost faced a coup from members of her party and the European Research Group who met to consider ousting her if she refused to drop her Brexit plan.

In an interview with the BBC, the PM responded to detractors in the Tory party by saying that if Parliament did not ratify her Chequers plan, "I think that the alternative to that will be having no deal".

She said she’s prepared to be a “bloody difficult woman” to defend her views and reach a good deal with the EU.

The coming weeks will be key for negotiations and hard on the Prime Minister. May will have to address her party conference on 3 October and an EU summit later on that month in the attempt to reach a final deal by November ahead of the March exit date.