Brussels proposals for a customs border between Britain and Northern Ireland were rejected by Theresa May — sparking the current impasse.
But Mr Raab says that while some in the EU Commission see it as a genuine solution to keep the Irish border open, others are “using it for political purposes”.
He told The Sun: “If you walk around the corridors in Brussels, you hear all sorts of mutterings about how the UK must be penalised for leaving the EU, and the politicisation of Northern Ireland is part of that.
“There are some out there in the Commission who see it as a lever beyond the substantive issue.
"There is no doubt there is a substantive issue about how we avoid a return to the hard border, but it has been magnified by those seeking to rely on it for political ends.”
The accusations risk infuriating Brussels and further increasing tensions over the stalled talks.
In his most outspoken interview since becoming Brexit Secretary — and marking the start of the Tories’ annual conference in Birmingham tomorrow — Mr Raab also:
- STATED for the first time that the Government is prepared to discuss “alternative proposals” to the PM’s rejected Chequers’ plan.
- REVEALED the absolute deadline for a Brexit deal will be a special EU summit just seven weeks away.
- CONFIRMED there has been no response from the EU to Mrs May’s plea a week ago for ideas to break the impasse.
Mr Raab insisted opposite number in Brussels, Michel Barnier, is not one of those abusing the Irish border issue to punish Britain.
Instead, he described him as a “decent, professional interlocutor with a good team around him”, adding: “I think they want a deal.”
But he said of other senior figures in the Commission: “There is no doubt that it is being used for political purposes.”
Cabinet members are pointing the finger at Commission Secretary-General Martin Selmayr.
Top Tories think the German secretly wants the reunification of Ireland as a very public pitfall of Brexit.
Mr Raab also revealed he is willing to listen to the EU if their reply to Mrs May’s ultimatum is not based on her Chequers’ plan.
Asked if that included a fresh proposal for the sort of free trade agreement championed by Brexiteers, he added: “I will look at anything that they send back because this is a negotiation.
“We aren’t pretending there aren’t alternative proposals that we would look at. In negotiations you do that.
“But we need credible responses for the proposals we have set out or credible alternatives, and we haven’t seen them yet.”
Saturday marks the six-month countdown to Brexit on March 29. But Mr Raab — the 44-year-old former Foreign Office lawyer — made it clear there can be no extension to talks past the summit planned for November 18.
He said any delay, even to December, would leave it “extremely difficult” for either side to pass it through parliament.
The Brexit Secretary added: “Otherwise we will end up with, in some ways what might be the worst case, which is a deal but without the time to implement it.”
Despite the ticking clock, he admitted Brussels is yet to respond to Mrs May’s demand for movement from the EU.
He said: “The ball is in their court.
"You wouldn’t expect to unblock some of those bigger sticking points around Northern Ireland and the Economic Partnership by now.”
Warning that Britain won’t be reduced to begging, he added: “We are not some minnow. We are one of the biggest EU economies, one of the biggest economies in the world.
“We are not going to get on our hands and knees and crawl back cap in hand for this deal.
"We are going to extend the arm of friendship, and see if it is reciprocated.”
And in a rallying call to unite a split Tory Party, he said: “When we have got a deal negotiated with the EU and the option of No Deal, I think it will focus minds and I am confident that colleagues will put some of those differences behind them and we will unite around a common position.”
Tit-for-tat at border
By Nick Gutteridge
BRUSSELS has threatened to slap tough border limits on Brits if Theresa May’s post-EU immigration plans go ahead.
Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, pictured below, warned of a tit-for-tat battle in a letter ahead of the Tory party conference.
The PM will unveil plans to end priority job access for EU nationals and focus on those with in-demand skills.
Mr Verhofstadt said the bloc will not sign a deal discriminating on nationality or type of job. It means emigrating Brits would face controls like EU citizens in the UK.
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