EU leaders are to confirm at a summit in Brussels on Saturday (28
April) that if Northern Ireland reunited with Ireland it would
automatically become part of the bloc.
The issue could irritate London ahead of 8 June's general election and the soon-to-begin Brexit talks.
The Irish commitment, which had always been an informal understanding, will not be part of the EU 27’s negotiating guidelines, but it will be annexed to the document as part of the minutes of the discussion upon Ireland's request.
The British government has a similar understanding.
Brexit secretary David Davis in a leaked letter in March said: "In that event [Irish reunification] Northern Ireland would be in a position of becoming part of an existing EU member state, rather than seeking to join the EU as a new independent state."
On the other hand, if Scotland broke away from the UK to become a sovereign state it would have to apply for EU membership.
The Scottish government said it wants to hold a new independence referendum because Scots voted to stay in the EU in the Brexit referendum last year.
The Irish pledge is the only new element that has emerged in the EU's position as it prepares for its first ever formal summit without the UK under the Article 50 exit procedure.
Read more: EU signals Northern Ireland could join if united with Ireland
The issue could irritate London ahead of 8 June's general election and the soon-to-begin Brexit talks.
The Irish commitment, which had always been an informal understanding, will not be part of the EU 27’s negotiating guidelines, but it will be annexed to the document as part of the minutes of the discussion upon Ireland's request.
The British government has a similar understanding.
Brexit secretary David Davis in a leaked letter in March said: "In that event [Irish reunification] Northern Ireland would be in a position of becoming part of an existing EU member state, rather than seeking to join the EU as a new independent state."
On the other hand, if Scotland broke away from the UK to become a sovereign state it would have to apply for EU membership.
The Scottish government said it wants to hold a new independence referendum because Scots voted to stay in the EU in the Brexit referendum last year.
The Irish pledge is the only new element that has emerged in the EU's position as it prepares for its first ever formal summit without the UK under the Article 50 exit procedure.
Read more: EU signals Northern Ireland could join if united with Ireland
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