BRITAIN must offer solutions on how to settle the Irish border issue, the EU's top Brexit negotiator has said.
Michel Barnier told a conference yesterday that the British government would need to provide clear proposals soon if they were to find a way for the UK to leave the EU but still have a transparent, open border with Ireland.
And he said it was not up to the European Union to offer compromises.
Mr Barnier added "those who wanted Brexit must offer solutions".
He said the EU and UK were close to agreement on measures to ensure the continuation of the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area.
But he said it remained "unclear" what rules would apply in Northern Ireland after Brexit.
He dismissed arguments that the north's regulatory framework must match that in Britain to preserve the integrity of the UK single market, pointing out that Northern Ireland already has "specific rules in many areas that are different to the rest of the UK".
"I expect the UK, as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, to come forward with proposals," he said.
"The island of Ireland is now faced with many challenges. Those who wanted Brexit must offer solutions."
Mr Barnier added that the EU wants "sufficient progress" on the Irish issue, the rights of EU citizens remaining in Britain and the outstanding bill Britain must pay before the negotiations can move to future relations next month, he said.
Meanwhile, the north can be given special status in the UK's Brexit deal, an independent legal analysis commissioned by MEPs has advised.
The legal opinion, written by lawyers from the London-based Doughty Street Chambers, proposes three ways in which it says special status could be legally secured for the north as the UK continues negotiations on leaving the European Union.
The document was commissioned by a cross-party coalition of left-wing MEPs and launched by Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson at an event in Stormont.
The first model suggested would be for the UK to stay in the single market and the customs union, while the rest of the UK would suspend some customs regulations but Northern Ireland would retain them.
The second suggests that Northern Ireland could stay in the single market and customs union while the rest of the UK leaves them.
The third proposal, modelled on the fall of the Berlin wall and subsequent reunification of Germany, suggests that Northern Ireland would remain in the EU pending a border poll on a united Ireland.
Speaking at the launch, report author Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC said: "It is astonishing so few proposals have been put on the table about this. A key part of our report is to look at the legal and policy vacuum here, which is concerning".
The north has been without a full voice at Brexit negotiations due to the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont earlier this year.
The DUP and Sinn Féin will hold talks with Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street today about the ongoing political crisis.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said: "We want to speak with the Prime Minister about the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland and also about securing the best deal for the whole of the United Kingdom as we exit the European Union".
