EU chief tells Britain to sort citizens, cash and Northern Ireland before Brexit deal

EU leaders hardened their line on Brexit today by issuing fresh demands on the UK’s divorce bill and the future of Northern Ireland.

The ultimatum came as the 27 member states gathered in Brussels to thrash out their negotiating stance.
But Mr Tusk said the EU “will not discuss our future relations” with the UK until “sufficient progress” has been made on the UK’s liabilities, the rights of EU citizens and the Irish border.He said: “In other words, before discussing our future, we must first sort out our past.”

A leaked draft suggested the UK would have to agree to offer citizenship to all EU nationals who have been in Britain for at least five years.

Mr Tusk also called for action to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The EU leaders are expected to agree at the Brussels meeting for Northern Ireland to seamlessly become a member of the bloc if there were a vote for Irish reunification.

Such a move would raise fresh fears that Brexit could lead to the break up of the United Kingdom
In a letter to EU leaders ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Mr Tusk wrote: “Only once we collectively determine in the European Council that sufficient progress has been made on all these issues, will we be in a position to hold preparatory talks on the future relationship with the UK.

“I would like us to unite around this key principle during the upcoming summit, so that it is clear that progress on people, money and Ireland must come first.

“And we have to be ready to defend this logic during the upcoming negotiations.”
The one-off summit comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the UK of having “illusions” about how the talks would pan out.

Mrs Merkel was bolstered by a poll yesterday showing 81 per cent of Germans think the EU should make either few or no concessions to Britain in Brexit talks.