London and Brussels have reached an agreement that Great Britain will temporarily remain in the customs union with the European Union (EU) after Brexit, which would avoid a hard border with Ireland, the British weekly Sunday Times (Sunday Times) reported today. British Prime Minister Theresa May received concessions from the EU, the paper said, citing sources close to the negotiations, and added that Brussels agreed to state in the agreement on future relations that the entire territory of Great Britain will remain in the customs union. Under the new deal, the EU agreed to check goods at factories or stores, rather than at the border. The Irish border has been a stumbling block in negotiations on relations after Great Britain's withdrawal from the Union. Neither side wants to introduce a border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, fearing that the Belfast-Dublin peace deal would be threatened. The unnamed spokesman of the British government did not want to confirm the allegations of the Sunday Times, evaluating them as speculations, Sky News reported. British and Irish officials recently said they were close to a deal to resolve the issue of keeping the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland open after Brexit. Great Britain will officially leave the EU on March 29, 2019.
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