Leo: This is the only deal on offer
Britain has little room for re-negotiating the Brexit deal, says Taoiseach, as ‘precipice approaches’
TAKE it or leave it – that’s the message from Leo Varadkar and the EU on the Brexit deal as Britain approaches what he called a ‘precipice.’
Asked by the Irish Daily Mail yesterday whether the proposed deal was the EU’s final offer, the Taoiseach said: ‘To be honest I don’t see much room for renegotiation.
‘This is a Withdrawal Agreement which took the best part of two years to negotiate, involving 28 countries, all of whom have their own concerns and interests. So I think if you start trying to amend it or unpick it, you might find that the whole thing unravels.
‘Now it is still a draft agreement of course. We expect it to be ratified by the European Council next weekend, and it has been agreed by the UK Government.
He added: ‘I certainly don’t think the whole thing can be renegotiated in the period that’s left. We are only a few months away from Brexit now.’
The Taoiseach’s comments echo those of German chancellor Angela Merkel who said on Thursday there was ‘no question’ of reopening talks as a document was ‘on the table’.
Mr Varadkar praised British prime minister Theresa May and predicted that she would get the proposed deal through the House of Commons.
He said: ‘I appreciate that Prime Minister May is going to have quite a battle to get it through, but she is someone who has shown enormous resilience in the past, and certainly in our dealings with her, she is true to her word.
‘Today it looks like it will be very difficult to win the vote in the House of Commons, but I think as reality kicks in, as the precipice approaches, you might find more people become willing to support the deal as the best possible outcome that can be achieved.’
The Taoiseach said the proposal represents a positive deal for Ireland. ‘Crucially for us, it avoids a hard border, protects the Good Friday Agreement, protects the Common Travel Area between the two countries, makes sure there is customs-free trade between Britain and Ireland, and also that people’s rights as European citizens [in the North] are protected too.’
Mr Varadkar said there was provision in Article 50 for an extension to the negotiation period, which would mean Brexit being postponed. ‘But that would have to be requested by the UK Government, and it has been very clear in its dealings with us and the European Union that they intend to leave on March 29 and they will not be seeking an extension.’
The Taoiseach also warned that in a no-deal scenario ‘it would be very difficult to avoid a hard border.’ With Ireland remaining a part of the European Union, it would be asked to implement European law, while the United Kingdom would be bound by World Trade Organisation rules.
‘So those hard Brexiteers who say that somehow, just through political goodwill, you can avoid a hard border, I’m afraid that just doesn’t make sense. Are they saying they would join the WTO, and then the first thing they would do is refuse to implement WTO rules? Are they really saying to us that we would stay in the European Union and not protect the single market?
‘The only way we can avoid a hard border here is by an agreement – an agreement that covers customs and regulations. We have that now.’
While he said he was hearing people talking against the agreement, he wasn’t hearing any opponents putting forward proposals to avoid a hard border and to protect trade between Britain, Ireland and Europe in any other way.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney last night said people were ‘too quick’ to write off Mrs May, saying she has shown ‘resilience, courage’ and a ‘reality check’ to Brexiteers in Westminster.
He rejected suggestions the Irish
‘It guarantees what we are looking for’
Government is preparing for a hard border – adding the way to avoid it is to sign up to the current agreement on the table.
Speaking ahead of the start of Fine Gael’s ard fheis yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Minister admitted it ‘will be difficult’ to find an alternative deal that will prevent a hard border.
‘If we are forced into that situation we will have to look at ways in which that can be avoided but that will not be easy,’ he said. ‘It is a far more sensible approach to support what is being negotiated over the last two years as a way that we know provides the guarantees that we have looked for and insisted on that there will be no physical border or infrastructure or checks or controls and that is an issue that goes beyond commerce and trade.
‘We have made it very clear that our contingency plans include east/west trade preparations. We are not going to prepare for border infrastructure on these island.
‘That is why we have been so firm that any deal that was signed off needed to deal with this issue comprehensively.
‘People have a choice to make – it’s either this deal or a chaotic no-deal Brexit or potentially it triggers a series of events that unravels that whole project itself.’