British target Leo in Brexit ‘dirty war’
DUP threat to pull plug on government Crisis puts solution to Border issue in jeopardy Martin steps in to back Varadkar in EU
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar is being targeted by British officials and politicians as the Brexit war turns dirty.
As tensions between Dublin and London intensify, sources involved in devising Ireland’s Brexit strategy say they have detected a ‘smear campaign’ against Mr Varadkar.
In a significant intervention, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has written to the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator in an effort to calm the waters. In a pointed letter, Mr Martin indicates that he fully backs Mr Varadkar’s demands ahead of a crucial summit later this month.
It comes as the British government was put in jeopardy by a DUP threat to withdraw support if the unionists do not get their way on Brexit. The Irish Independent understands a deal on the Border was about to be finalised.
But DUP MP Sammy Wilson said: “If there is any hint that in order to placate Dublin and the EU they’re prepared to have Northern Ireland treated differently than the rest of the UK, then they can’t rely on our vote.”
THE DUP is willing to derail progress on Brexit negotiations just as a breakthrough on the Irish Border was imminent.
The party warned the British Conservative government that it will withdraw support under any deal which sees Northern Ireland set apart from the rest of the UK.
Currently the Tories rely on the DUP to prop up the minority government in Westminster, but the Irish Independent understands a deal on the Border was about to be finalised.
Proposals thrashed out by British and EU teams with input from Irish officials say if Northern Ireland keeps the same rules as the rest of the EU, it would avoid the need for a hard Border.
But the DUP says it won’t countenance any policy that would see Northern Ireland treated in any way different to the rest of Britain.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said it won’t agree to anything that would force the North to “mirror” EU regulations.
Warning
And unionist MP Sammy Wilson said: “If there is any hint that in order to placate Dublin and the EU they’re prepared to have Northern Ireland treated differently than the rest of the UK, then they can’t rely on our vote.
“They have to recognise that if this is about treating Northern Ireland differently, or leaving us half in the EU, dragging along behind regulations which change in Dublin, it’s not on.”
While talks are still “very much ongoing”, according to EU taskforce sources, a breakthrough on settling the major impasse surrounding the Border was closer than had been expected this week. But the warning from the DUP has placed UK Prime Minister Theresa May in renewed difficulty. If the DUP withdraws its support, it would likely trigger the collapse of her government and plunge the UK into further crisis.
As relations soured further last night, former first minister for Northern Ireland Peter Robinson said the Irish Government should “wind its neck in”.
“When I left office, relationships between unionists and the Irish Republic had reached a new high,” he said in a post on social media.
But Mr Robinson put the blame on politicians south of the Border as he added: “Sensible heads in the Republic need to assert themselves and bring some decorum to the handling of this vital issue.”
In Brussels, Irish Commissioner Phil Hogan signalled his disappointment at the stance being adopted by the DUP.
He said he hoped all parties involved in the process, within individual member states and at EU level, would adopt a constructive approach and work for no change in the Irish Border, as it is now, and in the wake of Brexit.
“It is in everybody’s interest that the best possible outcome is achieved on this issue. One would have thought that it is also very much in the interest of the Democratic Unionist Party as well as everyone else,” Mr Hogan told the Irish Independent.
New Tánaiste Simon Coveney also told the Dáil that the EU “will not abandon Ireland”, adding that “there is a very strong understanding across the 27 EU states in relation to what is required”.
Talks have intensified in the past few days as the British government has upped its game and offered to give more on the three priority areas.
Talks
The EU says it won’t move on to trade talks with the UK until there is “sufficient progress” on the three key areas – Britain’s financial settlement, a deal on the rights of citizens after Brexit, and keeping the island of Ireland border-free.
Mrs May is desperately hoping EU leaders will give the go-ahead for the second phase of the negotiations – including talks on a free trade deal – to begin at the European Council summit on December 14-15.
She is due to travel to Brussels on Monday for talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
The core issue surrounding the Border was “an acceptance of no regulatory divergence” between the North and the Republic, a source close to talks said.
“Politically, this issue is highly sensitive in the UK, particularly among the British government’s partner the DUP,” the source said. But “the pressure on the British” to get to the trade talks is “great”.