‘Unionists will want to be Irish citizens’
That way they can keep EU citizenship, says Leo
EVEN Northern unionists will want to become Irish citizens once Britain leaves the European Union, Leo Varadkar has predicted. In comments that may upset some, the Taoiseach suggested the benefits of EU citizenship will be so attractive that large numbers from the unionist population will seek to obtain it.
Mr Varadkar said: ‘After Brexit, after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, it’s very likely that the majority of people in Northern Ireland will be Irish and European citizens, because even people from a unionist background will want to become Irish and European citizens – at the very least for their convenience.’
Under the Good Friday Agreement, Prediction: Leo Varadkar those born in the North are entitled to dual British and Irish citizenship. Should they claim Irish citizenship, they are automatically considered a citizen of the European Union too.
Mr Varadkar, in Brussels yesterday for a two-day European Council meeting, said that ‘more and more EU leaders’ appreciate the situation that exists in the North, where most people are EU citizens who voted to remain – but who will live outside the EU after Brexit.
He also said the possibility of a customs partnership between the UK and the EU – rather than a customs union – needs to be looked at more thoroughly.
But he warned: ‘I find it difficult to square the circle of having a customs partnership which is very like the customs union we have now but at the same time Britain engaging in trade deals with third parties. A customs union is a little like a marriage: once you are committed to it, you are committed to it.’
The Irish border is where the most progress has been made in first-phase negotiations, ahead of talks on the financial settlement and reciprocal EU/UK citizens’ rights.
Mr Varadkar said the overall progress was ‘just not enough’, indicating he will follow the advice of EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who has said the UK has not qualified for its desired further talks on Britain’s post-Brexit trade relationship.
The Taoiseach said he believed Brexit talks could possibly be broadened in December to include future relations, but only if Britain came up with more detailed negotiating proposals. ‘It’s not enough to say that you don’t want certain outcomes, you need to explain them,’ Mr Varadkar said.
Britain is saying it wants the closest possible relations with the EU but has so far failed to spell out its vision, he said.
He said: ‘We already have the closest possible relationship. It’s called the European Union.’
But he distanced himself from remarks by EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, who said the negotiations on the UK’s split from Europe are on a cliff edge to a hard Brexit. ‘I think we have a way to go yet,’ the Taoiseach said. ‘Brexit does not happen until April 2019.’