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<p>Negotiations between the UK and EU were ongoing throughout last year. These negotiations
involved both officials and Ministers. They included discussions about setting out
a legally operative backstop, as part of the Government’s commitment to avoiding a
hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and as set out in the December 2017
Joint Report.</p><p>The outcome of those discussions is reflected in the draft Withdrawal
Agreement laid before Parliament on 26 November. This guarantees that in the event
that the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not in place by the end of the implementation
period, there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, while maintaining
the economic and constitutional integrity of the UK.</p><p>As the Government has made
clear, however, this would be an insurance policy that neither the UK nor the EU expects
to use. We fully expect to bring into force our future relationship or alternative
arrangements, which would guarantee no hard border on a permanent basis, by the end
of the Implementation Period that the Withdrawal Agreement provides.</p><p> </p>
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