THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS Minister Charlie Flanagan has said that Ireland is firmly on ‘Team EU’.
Speaking to the European Movement Ireland (EMI) tonight, Flanagan said that Ireland and “team EU” will be ready for Brexit negotiations.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May today denied reports that a post-Brexit trade deal could take a decade.
May was tonight frozen out of a dinner where the other 27 EU leaders will discuss the process for Britain’s departure.
They have rejected all negotiations until Britain officially triggers the two-year divorce process, expected in March, but May dismissed any suggestion that it amounted to a snub.
“It is right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing,” she said.
Flanagan tonight said that Ireland will be ready for the negotiations, saying that other countries understand that Ireland has a larger stake in Brexit.
A key part of our preparations is to ensure that our priorities are heard and understood in the capitals of Europe. I’m satisfied from my own contacts with each and every Foreign Minister throughout Europe, that there is an appreciation that Ireland has a bigger stake in the outcome of the negotiations compared to other EU Member States.
“But I am confident that we in Ireland and in “Team EU” will be ready for the negotiations.”
In his speech, Flanagan also took aim at the rise of populism across Europe.
“The reality is that governments are generally faced with difficult choices – there are no easy solutions to the complex problems we all face domestically or internationally.
“I believe it will become clear to electorates that populism is an empty formula.”
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