EU ready to give Britain more guarantees backstop is temporary - Barnier

The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the backstop is only intended to be temporary, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said today.

"We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU," Michel Barnier said in an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper to be published tomorrow.

"This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary."