Biden: Irish border must remain open
US president-elect Joe Biden has stressed the importance of keeping the Irish border open following Brexit.
S p e a k i n g i n Wi l mi n g t o n , D e l aw a r e , h e s a i d : "We d o not want a guarded b order. We want to make sure - we've worked too long to get Ireland worked out, and I talked with the British prime minister, I talked with the Taoiseach, I talked with others, I talked to the French.
"The idea of having a border nor th and south once again being closed is just not right, we've just got to keep the border open."
Mr Biden discussed Brexit with Prime Minister B oris Johnson earlier in November during one of his first phone calls to other world leaders as president-elect, warning him Brexit must not jeopardise the Northern Ireland peace pro - cess.
Mr Biden previously touched up on the 1998 Go o d Friday agreement during his presidential campaign, t weeting in September: "We can't allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.
"A ny t r a d e d e a l b e t we e n the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period."
A Nor thern Ireland Office (NIO) minister reiterated the Government's position.
Robin Walker said: "There will be no border post. I think what p r e s i d e n t- e l e c t Bi d e n wa s s e t t i n g o u t i s a s h a r e d ambition for the UK Government, for the Irish and indeed for the US, that there should be no guarded border between
N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d a n d Republic of Ireland.
"That is something that we a r e a l l a b s o l u t e l y c o mmi tted to delivering on under all the circumstances envisaged from the outcome of the negotiations."
He told MPS on the Nor thern Ireland Affairs Committee that the US had a great interest in Northern Ireland and was a key investor.
Trade negotiations between the UK and EU are continuing, although time is running short for a deal to be reached and ratified before the current transitional arrangements expire at the end of the year.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told MEPS the talks were in "decisive days", adding: "I cannot tell you today if, in the end, there will be a deal."
T h e r e h a d b e e n "g e n u i n e progress" in some areas, with the outline of a "possible final text" in areas including criminal justice, goods and services and transport.
But there have been no breakthroughs in the three areas which have proved problematic for months - fishing rights, governance of any deal and the "level playing field" designed to prevent unfair competition on standards and state subsidies.
Ms von der Leyen said "with very little time ahead of us" the EU was "ready to be creative", but it would protect the integrity of the single market.
T h e r e we r e s t i l l "s e r i o u s issues" around state aid and the possibility of the UK drifting away from EU standards on labour and environmental standards.
T h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r h a s i n s i s t e d h e w i l l n o t s i g n u p t o a n y t h i n g w h i c h t i e s t h e U K t o E U r u l e s .
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