Confidence on borders

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has insisted he is confident there will be no hard border on Ireland despite being warned the issue remains a “riddle to be solved”.

The Taoiseach said it is “written in black and white” (in last week’s agreement between the EU and the UK) that a hard border on the island of Ireland will be avoided.

Responding to claims from Austrian chancellor Christian Kern that “primary school students can see that there is a riddle to be solved” Mr Varadkar said he remains “confident” there will be “no physical infrastructure and no associated checks or controls at the border”.

“If all else falls we have a backstop arrangement that allows us to avoid a hard border,” he said.

“It is our intention now to negotiate the withdrawal agreement. We want that stitched into the withdrawal agreement.”

Speaking in Brussels shortly after the European Union agreed to move Brexit talks on to trade and a transition pact he admitted that difficult negotiations still lie ahead.

“We are going to have to stay very vigilant,” he told reporters.

When asked if EU unity could come under pressure in the next phase of talks Mr Varadkar said: “Ireland is very grateful for the level of solidarity shown by member states.”

■

– Ratification process involving as many as 38 national and regional parliaments, with any of them effectively holding a veto.

■ March 29 – The UK ceases to be a member of the EU.

■ December 31, 2020

– Britain ceases payments into the EU budget.

■ 2027 – Expected end of the European Court of Justice’s role in the oversight of the rights of EU citizens in the UK.

Leo Varadkar