European Union may finalize deal with whole UK in backstop customs union

The European Union is willing to agree to Britain's demand to include the whole of the United Kingdom in a backstop customs union if they cannot agree on a free-trade deal when the planned transitional arrangement runs out, Euronews reported.

Talks between Britain and the European Union have stalled over a disagreement over the so-called backstop - an insurance policy to ensure there will be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland if a future trading relationship is not in place by the end of December 2020.

Darren McCaffrey, the political editor of Euronews, said on Twitter the EU is willing to put a clause committing to a UK-wide backstop into the EU withdrawal agreement. Its position so far has been that only Northern Ireland should be in the backstop.