UK PRIME MINISTER Theresa May will visit Dublin on Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed.

Speaking after a meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels today, the Taoiseach said May will visit Dublin on Friday evening, where they will both have dinner together. 

“It’s an opportunity as well to discuss the situation and work together to chart a way forward,” he said.

Varadkar added that the UK can request a Brexit extension, but speaking about the backstop issue, he said alternative arrangements for the Irish border can be explored but this cannot result in the deletion of the backstop.

The British Prime Minister is due to travel to Brussels tomorrow to meet with European leaders amid the continuing Brexit impasse. 

While the Taoiseach has been in Brussels today, the British prime minister is spending a second day in the North meeting representatives of the five main Stormont parties. 

This latest round of meetings comes after May was given a mandate by the House of Commons last week to pursue an eleventh hour deal with the EU on the basis of the so-called ‘Malthouse Compromise’. 

Attempting to build support for the strategy, May told business leaders in Belfast yesterday that she intended to secure a deal that “commands broad support” as well as backing from a majority of MPs. 

‘Ready to help Ireland’

Speaking today, Juncker said the EU is ready to help Ireland.

He said the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration have been negotiated in good faith and have been agreed by all 27 Leaders of the European Union Member States as well as by the United Kingdom.

“As we have said on many occasions, the Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only deal possible. It is not open for renegotiation.

“The backstop is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement. While we hope the backstop will not need to be used, it is a necessary legal guarantee to protect peace and to ensure there will be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland, while protecting the integrity of our Single Market and the Customs Union,” he said this afternoon.

He said the Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop, is a “balanced compromise”, representing a good outcome for citizens and businesses on all sides, including in Northern Ireland.

Juncker added:

The backstop is not a bilateral issue, but a European one. Ireland’s border is also the border of the European Union and its market is part of the Single Market. We will stay united on this matter.

We will continue to seek agreement on the orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom but we will also step up our preparation for a no-deal scenario. In this context, programmes that provide support for cross-border peace and reconciliation in the border counties of Ireland and Northern Ireland will be continued and strengthened.

He said the Commission “stands ready to support Ireland” in finding solutions answering the specific challenges that Ireland and Irish citizens, farmers and businesses will face.

“We will work closely together to this end over the coming weeks.

“We will continue to remind the Government of the United Kingdom of its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement, with or without a deal,” he concluded.