Ireland says new thinking from UK needed for Brexit breakthrough

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Ireland Simon Coveney speaks on stage during the Fine Gael national party conference in Ballyconnell, Ireland November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

DUBLIN (Reuters) - New thinking is needed from the British government to secure agreement on the Irish border and allow Brexit talks to move onto the next phase as the current proposals are not credible, Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Tuesday.

Brussels wants three issues broadly solved before it decides in December whether Brexit talks can move onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants. These are Britain's exit bill, safeguarding expatriate rights, and the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will be the UK's only land frontier with the EU after its departure.