Face of Nation : It will be “very difficult” for the UK and the EU to reach a Brexit agreement before the 31 October deadline, Irish leader Leo Varadkar has said. He told Irish broadcaster RTE “big gaps” remained between the two sides. Amid claims on Tuesday that talks were close to collapse, he also suggested the language around the discussions had turned toxic “in some quarters”.
Mr Varadkar and Boris Johnson are expected to meet for further Brexit talks later this week. The UK has said the EU needs to “move quickly” to stop it leaving without an agreement at the end of the month. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who spoke with Mr Johnson by phone for about 45 minutes on Tuesday, said he would strive until the “last moment” to reach a deal with the UK, but “not at any cost” to his country, Northern Ireland and the rest of Europe.
He also downplayed the chances of any agreement being struck before the crucial summit of EU leaders on 17 October, during which next steps for Brexit are likely to be decided. “I think it’s going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly,” Mr Varadkar said.
“Essentially, what the UK has done is repudiated the deal that we negotiated in good faith with prime minister [Theresa] May’s government over two years and have sort of put half of that now back on the table, and are saying that’s a concession. And of course it isn’t really.”
Mr Varadkar added that it was his job to hold the UK to commitments it had made since the 2016 referendum to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland and uphold the Good Friday Agreement. The Irish leader’s comments came after a No 10 source claimed on Tuesday that Germany was now making it “essentially impossible” for the UK to leave the EU with a deal.
That assessment followed a “frank” phone call between Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during which they discussed Brexit proposals the UK prime minister put forward last week to the EU.
After the call, a No 10 source said Mrs Merkel had made clear a deal based on the prime minister’s plans was “overwhelmingly unlikely” – though the BBC’s Adam Fleming said there “scepticism” within the EU that she would have used such language.
The No 10 source also suggested Mrs Merkel told her counterpart the only way to break the deadlock was for Northern Ireland to stay in the customs union and for it to permanently accept EU single market rules on trade in goods. EU’s top official, European Council President Donald Tusk, accused Mr Johnson of engaging in a “stupid blame game”.
In a tweet to the prime minister, he added: “At stake is the future of Europe and the UK, as well as the security and interests of our people. “You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke, quo vadis (where are you going)?”
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that if negotiations fail, “the explanation will be found in the British camp (because) the original sin is found on the islands and not on the continent”.
Speaking to the French Les Echos newspaper, he added: “A no-deal Brexit would lead to a collapse of the United Kingdom and a weakening of growth on the continent.” In his interview with RTE, Mr Varadkar was asked whether he was concerned the language around the talks was “getting toxic”.
“I think it is, from some quarters, but you know I don’t play dirty. You know, I don’t think most EU leaders do either. We’ve been very straight up from when the referendum happened.” The prime minister also hosted European Parliament president David Sassoli in Downing Street on Tuesday, but the MEP left saying “no progress” had been made.
Mr Sassoli later told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “Angela Merkel’s opinions must be taken seriously. We are all very worried because there are only a few days left. “Because we understand that going out without an agreement leads to having a real problem, if not a real catastrophe.”
Following the meeting, Downing Street said there was “little time” left to negotiate a new legally-binding withdrawal agreement, but Mr Johnson remained committed to doing all he could.
“We need to move quickly and work together to agree a deal,” a No 10 spokesman said. “He [the prime minister] reiterated that if we did not reach an agreement then the UK will leave without a deal on 31 October.”
