The EU have firmly put their foot down over the Irish border

There's simply no way they'll budge...

The European Council has also said that a future trading relationship between the EU and Britain can only be agreed upon if commitments already made by London are "respected in full."

In essence, while this doesn't explicitly mention Northern Ireland, it does mean that there can be no going back on the deal agreed in December that no hard border would be put in place between the north and south of Ireland. The European Union inflicted a blow on the British government after they rejected Theresa May's call for a comprehensive trade deal. Instead work will begin on a more limited Canada-style deal according to a draft of negotiating guidelines published on Wednesday. The document said that the only deal available to Theresa May's Britain was a basic free trade agreement as long as the UK continues their plans to leave the single market and the customs union. European Council President, Donald Tusk, said the news should "come as no surprise" to the UK government. "It should come as no surprise that the only remaining possible model is a free trade agreement. I hope it's ambitious and we'll do our best. But it will only be a trade agreement," Tusk said. "This will be the first free trade agreement in history where we loosen economic ties, not strengthen them. This is the essence of Brexit." He added: "A pick and mix approach for a non-member state is out of the question. We are not going to sacrifice these principles. This is not in our interest."