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TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has asked for Brexit to be put on the agenda of a meeting of EU leaders in Salzburg this September.
Reacting to events in London yesterday, where UK Prime Minister Theresa May lost Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit minister David Davis from her Cabinet, Varadkar said in the Dáil this afternoon that it is very much an “internal matter” for the British Government.
Varadkar said he discussed the possibility of upgrading the Austrian summit in September to a formal summit on Article 50 with the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz when he was here last weekend.
Varadkar said the 28 heads of State are meeting in Salzburg on 20 September, which would be an opportune time to discuss Irish border issues. However, he said a decision will be made closer to the time.
He said he looks forward to reading the UK government’s White Paper which May is due to publish this week. He understands it will run to about 100-pages long, and said it will provide the much-wanted detail on how the UK sees its relationship with Europe working in the future.
Eager for there to be progress made, the Taoiseach said:
“If the United Kingdom was able to relax from some of its red lines, then the European Union could be flexible too. I think we are now entering into that space.”
He added:
I have always said the best option and the best way for us to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland is through what we have been calling for quite some time option A, which is the future relationship, rather than option C, which is the backstop.
It has always been our view that the best solution is one that would be an all-encompassing solution involving the United Kingdom staying very close to the European Union and, therefore, Ireland and, therefore, negating the need or even possibility of a hard border on our island.
Nonetheless we will still need a backstop. It will not be possible to negotiate the final stages treaty, that is the new treaty between the UK and the EU, by October. At best we will have a political declaration. That treaty will have to be ratified not just by this Parliament but by the Parliament of every member state in the European Union.
Reacting to the news that Johnson had resigned from the UK Cabinet in protest, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said Boris Johnson is now running away from the mess that he helped create, adding that he will be “no great loss”.
Conservative Party fall-out
Today, May convened her cabinet in an attempt to keep control of her Conservative party in the wake of the high level resignations from the party yesterday.
Johnson warned in his letter of resignation to May that Britain was headed for the “status of colony” of the EU after it leaves in March, and said the Brexit “dream is dying”.
May responded that she was “sorry and a little surprised” by his decision but said she accepted it was necessary “if you are not able to provide the support we need to secure this deal in the interests of the United Kingdom”.
She replaced him with Health Minister Jeremy Hunt, a Japanese-speaking former entrepreneur who unlike Johnson voted for Britain to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum.
Johnson’s dramatic resignation followed those of Davis and his deputy Steve Baker overnight over May’s plans to keep Britain economically close to the bloc.
Two parliamentary private secretaries — MPs who act as assistants to ministers — also quit their posts.
The departures, hailed by eurosceptic MPs in the ruling Conservative party, triggered speculation that May could face an imminent leadership contest.
But, appearing in the House of Commons, a confident-sounding Maydefended her Brexit proposals.
“This is not a betrayal,” she responded to one of several eurosceptic Conservative MPs who complained, insisting it was “the right Brexit deal for Britain”.
She later spoke to Conservative MPs in a closed-door meeting at which she reportedly received broad support.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, an influential Brexit hardliner, was quoted as saying that he would vote against May’s proposals but would support her in any confidence vote.
Rees-Mogg said he expected May to remain in office at least until the official date of Brexit next year.
But another Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns said she believed May’s time as prime minister was “over”.
Davis himself said it would be “wrong” for his departure to trigger a major party rebellion against May.
‘Giving too much away’
May announced on Friday that her cabinet had finally agreed to a plan to follow EU rules for trade in goods, raising hopes that long-stalled talks with the bloc could progress.
The truce did not last the weekend after Davis quit on Sunday night, warning that Britain was “giving too much away too easily” in Brexit talks.
On Monday, when Johnson was supposed to be hosting a summit on the Western Balkans, Downing Street announced he had also gone.
The timing could not be worse, as Britain faces a fresh diplomatic row with Russia over a nerve agent attack, and ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit this week.
Brexit negotiations with Brussels are also expected to resume next week.
Downing Street swiftly appointed eurosceptic housing minister Dominic Raab to Davis’s job, and then later named Hunt as Johnson’s successor.
May said she now wanted to advance the Brexit talks, saying she had briefed EU leaders on her plan in recent days and received a “positive reaction”.
May has been balancing competing factions in her party for years, but with the clock ticking down to Brexit, had to make a choice.
Her proposal would see Britain adopt EU rules for trade in goods after Brexit, but maintain flexibility for its key services sector and end freedom of movement.
Brussels has repeatedly warned it will not accept “cherry-picking” of elements of its single market and it remains to be seen what the response will be in Brussels.
Following Monday’s resignations, EU President Donald Tusk tweeted: “Politicians come and go but the problems they have created for people remain.”
“I can only regret that the idea of Brexit has not left with Davis and Johnson. But… who knows?,” he added, wondering if Britain might reject the divorce.
‘Reluctant conscript’
But many eurosceptic MPs are outraged at May’s plan, and Davis’s resignation letter was also scathing.
May’s proposals for a “common rulebook” on goods “hands control of large swathes of our economy to the EU”, he said.
Davis said his job required “an enthusiastic believer in your approach, and not merely a reluctant conscript”.
Speaking to BBC radio on Monday, he said he hoped Britain would “resist very strongly any attempt to get any further concessions”.
As head of the Brexit ministry, Davis was the public face of Britain’s negotiating team but in reality has been overshadowed for months by Mayand her aides.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the cabinet ministers had “jumped the sinking ship”.
“For the good of this country and its people, the government needs to get its act together and do it quickly and if it can’t, make way for those who can,” he said.
© – AFP, 2018 with reporting by Christina Finn
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The real agenda of the military is now exposed.
read again – it’s not the first time the detention time has expired. Do I detect some Clonskeagh spin on this story?
I hope they do re-arrest him, otherwise it’s playing straight into the Muslim Brotherhoods hands.
They will be rightly pi**ed off if he is re-arrested :-) but will still carry on trying to take over the world like Pinky and the Brain.
I mean the Islamist Brotherhood, not the Egyptians
I’m pretty sure the Muslim Brotherhood want nothing more than to keep him in jail, not released. They were the party that helped oust him, we’re they not?
@ Amy, naw, his release would add to their sense of grievance, keeping him in would deprive them of that.
Who knew Hosni was a member of FF
The Mummy has been sprung….the coup is complete!
Yes the Mummy Returns nice one.
It is clear that the military is choosing Nationalism over Islamism.
This is good for Egypt.
Seoirse, wow! This is the military that is backed up by the USA right. So you approve?
Some the narrow minded, racist s**te that pops up on this about muslims is ridiculous. A democratically elected government were outed by military force. Mass murder has taken place and people still manage to point the finger at the Muslim Brotherhood. Joke.
Yes the MB are the good guys, all they wanted to do was impose sharia law and those pesky Egyptians didn’t like it and wanted them out. Shame on them. Lets go down to clonskeagh HQ and console then
In fact the Egyptian people voted two-thirds for Morsi’s Islamist Constitution.
Mass murder has taken place, Emmet, and it’s despicable; but the MB are no angels either. They’ve been attacking and/or burning Christian churches for years (this is well documented), and also favour sharia law being enshrined in the constitution. It’s very hard to see a positive outcome, whatever transpires in the future.
He touted himself as a moderate before the elections in which weren’t exactly the fairest or most straightforward. He started to give himself greater power once in charge and the people realised what a mistake it was. No chance he was going to give up power and call fresh elections. I don’t agree with the military having power either and would like to see a new elected government sooner than later.
2 people favour sharia law. Luckily its entirely compatible with the irish red thumbers lifestyles. Women talking up the benefits of islamofascist rule is just incredible to me. Absolutely bananas
Once its a fair, Christian goverment backed by the US. Then we call all sleep in peace.
Ahe ahem
Read this balanced piece http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/cairo-egypt-morsi-arab-spring-1047733-Aug2013/
Over 600 protestors executed by the military. 35 protestors that were in custody murdered by the military. Lets remember this was a democratically elected government.
Which the majority of people protested to have removed if you remember, the army were seen as heroes the day they stepped in to help.
On point Emmer
It wasnt a majority of people. there were probably 2 million demonstrators in Cairo. Cairo has 20 million people. These were largely the secular demonstrators of 2011 who have always felt the MB hijacked their revolution by having the temerity to beat them in elections. Like it or not the Egyptian people have never been secular outside the trendy urban middle class.
How many signed the pettion to have their freedom restored instead of the Islamofacism that Morsi conned them into voting for?
Where is his ‘re-trail’ to? Somewhere nice I hope
The Egyptian Army seem to be well aware of what and who they are dealing with unlike the unfortunate Egyptian Police men who are being lynched by the fans of the peace loving MB.
”he still faces charges of corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters during the early 2011 uprising that overthrew him, with his next hearing scheduled for Sunday.”
with his friends in power once more – there is little chance that he will serve much more jail time .. ironic that the US puppet and Torturer is being freed on the day Bradley Manning get a severe jail sentence for showing the crimes of the USA .
I meant Emmet, sorry.
have your say