The sticking point was the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which after Brexit will also become the border between the UK and the EU. Because of the island's troubled history, both sides want to avoid a hard border with customs checks that could become a source of friction.
The problem has been that, because the prime minister promised in January 2017 to take Britain out of both the EU's single market and the customs union, customs and regulatory checks became almost inevitable.
For months, Britain rejected the EU's proposed backstop - in effect, keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union and single market - because it would require customs checks for goods crossing the Irish Sea and other arrangements meaning Northern Ireland was treated differently to the rest of the UK. But the EU also rejected Britain's suggestion that the whole of the UK should stay in a de facto customs union with the EU, mainly because the government wanted to be able to withdraw from such an arrangement unilaterally and at a time of its choosing.
For the EU, the chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, accepted the idea of a whole-UK customs union with the EU, satisfying the UK's demands that its territorial integrity must be preserved.
Conservative Brexiters, as is plain from Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab's resignation letter, are appalled at the prospect of Britain potentially being "Trapped" forever in a customs union with the EU - and at being forced to continue accepting EU regulations to boot.
Some EU member states feel the deal makes too many concessions to the UK. In principle, the deal then has to pass through parliament early in December.
Even if May and her deal survive, which appears increasingly unlikely, the agreement stipulates that the government must decide before June 2020 whether it wants to extend the transition period, fall into the Northern Ireland backstop arrangement or enter a permanent customs union - all options that would be anathema to Brexiters.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/14/theresa-mays-brexit-deal-everything-you-need-to-know
The problem has been that, because the prime minister promised in January 2017 to take Britain out of both the EU's single market and the customs union, customs and regulatory checks became almost inevitable.
For months, Britain rejected the EU's proposed backstop - in effect, keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union and single market - because it would require customs checks for goods crossing the Irish Sea and other arrangements meaning Northern Ireland was treated differently to the rest of the UK. But the EU also rejected Britain's suggestion that the whole of the UK should stay in a de facto customs union with the EU, mainly because the government wanted to be able to withdraw from such an arrangement unilaterally and at a time of its choosing.
For the EU, the chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, accepted the idea of a whole-UK customs union with the EU, satisfying the UK's demands that its territorial integrity must be preserved.
Conservative Brexiters, as is plain from Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab's resignation letter, are appalled at the prospect of Britain potentially being "Trapped" forever in a customs union with the EU - and at being forced to continue accepting EU regulations to boot.
Some EU member states feel the deal makes too many concessions to the UK. In principle, the deal then has to pass through parliament early in December.
Even if May and her deal survive, which appears increasingly unlikely, the agreement stipulates that the government must decide before June 2020 whether it wants to extend the transition period, fall into the Northern Ireland backstop arrangement or enter a permanent customs union - all options that would be anathema to Brexiters.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/14/theresa-mays-brexit-deal-everything-you-need-to-know
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