THE EU WILL “stand fully behind Ireland” no matter what happens with Brexit, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said today during a visit to Dublin.
Barnier arrived in Ireland ahead of this Wednesday’s European Council meeting which will decide if the UK will be granted a further extension.
The bloc agreed last month to postpone Brexit day, originally set for 29 March, and set 12 April as the new deadline under certain conditions.
Britain has until Friday to approve the existing withdrawal agreement, to change course and seek a further delay to Brexit, or to crash out of the EU without an agreement.
May has asked the remaining EU countries for another postponement that would extend to 30 June, hoping to secure an alternative deal from the opposition negotiations and Parliament in a matter of weeks.
Other European leaders are expected to respond to the delay request during Wednesday’s summit in Brussels.
May will head to the EU summit on Wednesday seeking to secure the Brexit extension until 30 June.
Meanwhile, the British government has today set 23 May as the date for European Parliament elections, but said it never intends to hold them as it hopes to have left the EU by then.
A spokeswoman said the formal “day of poll order” had been laid in parliament, but added: “It remains the government’s intention to leave the EU with a deal and pass the necessary legislation before 22 May, so that we do not need to participate.”
Barnier’s visit
According to the Department of An Taoiseach, the main purpose of Barnier’s visit is to show solidarity with Ireland, similar to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit last Thursday.
During his visit today, Barnier also warned Britain that, in case of a no-deal Brexit, the EU would not open trade talks until the question of the Irish border had been resolved.
“We would not discuss anything with the UK until there is an agreement for Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as citizens’ rights and the financial settlement,” he said.
All three issues are covered by the withdrawal agreement, which was struck between British and EU negotiators in November but has been rejected by the British parliament.
The EU has opposed any renegotiation of the divorce deal but Barnier today said an accompanying political declaration on future trade ties could be reworked “extremely quickly”.
The UK government is currently in talks with the Labour Party on a possible compromise to the situation, which could include a customs union.
However, Corbyn said today that he was still waiting for May to alter her approach.
“Talks have to mean a movement and so far there has been no change in those red lines,” he said, adding that his team would speak to her ministers tomorrow.
Varadkar’s stance
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has express support for the cross-party talks in London.
“I sincerely hope that it’ll be possible to build sufficient consensus to enable ratification of the withdrawal agreement,” he said.
“We’re open to extending the deadline to allow these discussions to run their course.”
Varadkar also spoke by phone with May this evening, who spoke about her recent letter to European Council President Donald Tusk seeking an extension of the Article 50 deadline, and her ongoing preparations for Wednesday’s Summit.
The Taoiseach repeated his openness to an extension of the deadline during the phone call.
He also spoke over the phone with Dutch Prime Mark Minister Rutte, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Alongside her phone call with Varadkar, May today began a last-minute visits to Paris and Berlin as she prepared for Wednesday’s make-or-break summit.
She is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, in what her spokeswoman said was an attempt to set out “the rationale” for a further short delay.
With reporting by Adam Daly and AFP.
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