Taoiseach must keep his nerve over Brexit

IN LITTLE over five weeks, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar faces into the most crucial European leaders’ summit in Ireland’s 45-year history of EU membership. So far he, his colleagues and advisers have played hardball in a grim contest. Now is not the time to relent. A clear assurance there can be no return to a Border on the island of Ireland, as part of the muddle-headed Europhobic trend in British political thought, must be secured on June 28-29 in Brussels.

Allowing another fudge, letting the Border issue drift into another phase of the UK-EU divorce proceedings, increases the ever-present risk of Ireland eventually becoming isolated in this prolonged Brexit process.

As many seasoned EU watchers have noted, fraught negotiations such as these always culminate in a late-night face-off with demands for tough compromises by everyone.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, should be taken 100pc at face value when he assures Ireland of full support all through the Brexit process. But there is only so much that can be done by even such a key person.

Signs over the past week are that British Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to offer a prolonged extension to its membership of the EU customs union beyond the transition period up to January 1, 2021.

This would be an important concession and it appears acceptable to Brussels, subject to some strict conditions.

The perennial problem remains that the British government is still deeply divided and radical Brexiteers are vehemently opposed to staying aligned to the EU.

They are right when they say such a “soft Brexit” would mean the UK cannot cut trade deals with non-EU states. This in turn questions the value of Brexit in the first place.

It is clear British Tory in-fighting cannot be allowed one more time to decide Ireland’s fate. But pushing too hard against the UK sustains the risk of it “crashing out”, which would also seriously harm Ireland’s interests.