HOWLIN LETTER URGES MACRON TO BACK DELAY
Labour leader appeals for solidarity over Brexit
LABOUR leader Brendan Howlin has written to the French President to stand with Ireland and reconsider his opposition to a three-month Brexit extension.
Mr Howlin said press reports indicate Emmanuel Macron is “singularly opposed” to an offer of this timescale for the scrambling British.
He added: “While I understand the frustration of some EU leaders in relation to Brexit, it is in Ireland’s national interest that the UK be given the necessary time to legislate for the current withdrawal agreement, or even to hold a general election or a new referendum.
“I have written to President Macron to ask him to reconsider, as a short extension will not only put pressure on the UK, it will also create pressure on the deal which guarantees an open Irish border.
Any rush to terminate the UK’S membership of the EU could cause the current agreement to fail, which would be catastrophic for Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, as well as doing serious harm to the Irish economy.
“Throughout the whole Brexit process, our European partners have shown great solidarity with Ireland, for which I am grateful.” EU ambassadors have agreed on a
Brexit delay but postponed a decision on how long to hold off on Britain’s exit until next week.
Two diplomats said it could be late Monday or early Tuesday for the verdict – just two days before the October 31 deadine.
Meanwhile, the DUP leader has demanded honesty from the Government on Brexit, as she vowed to keep opposing the current deal.
Addressing her party’s conference in Belfast, Arlene Foster reflected on Boris Johnson’s speech at the same event last year, when he insisted he would not erect any new economic barriers in the Irish Sea.
Mrs Foster joked the DUP had now put the British Prime Minister on the “naughty step” by voting against his government twice in the last week.
She told delegates her party had the “boldness and strength to stand up and say no when we need to”.
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