United Ireland should guarantee North access to EU, says Kenny

The final Brexit deal should guarantee Northern Ireland can seamlessly rejoin the EU if a united Ireland "were to occur", Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Speaking in Brussels alongside European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday, Mr Kenny made his strongest comments yet linking Brexit and provisions in the internationally binding 1998 Belfast Agreement.

“We want that . . . the language of what is contained in the Good Friday agreement would also be contained in the negotiation outcome,” Mr Kenny said.

"In other words at some future time, whenever that might be, if it were to occur, that Northern Ireland would have ease of access to join as a member of the European Union. We want that language inserted into the negotiated outcome whenever that might occur."

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Mr Kenny said it was a Government priority that the 1998 agreement was “not damaged in any way”.

‘Seamless fashion’

“It provides the opportunity in respect of the situation that arose after the Berlin Wall was taken down and that East Germany was able to join West Germany in a seamless fashion,” he said. German unification in 1990 saw East Germany accede to West Germany, with full and immediate EU access.

“That is already inherent in the Good Friday agreement,”said Mr Kenny, “so protecting that and being able to implement that, we want that language incorporated into the agreement that will eventually emerge.”

Mr Kenny had held a meeting with Mr Juncker and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier yesterday.

Mr Juncker said he shared the wishes of Dublin and London to avoid a hard Border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, or the Belfast Agreement being put at risk.

Shared challenges

“The Irish challenges . . . are European challenges, that is the spirit we are working with,” he said.

Pressed on his future plans as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader, Mr Kenny said he hoped to stay on for two upcoming EU summits. The first, to mark the bloc's 60th anniversary in Rome next month, and a summit for EU-27 leaders to sign off on the European Commission's Brexit negotiation mandate.

The latter meeting is expected after London triggers article 50 and was originally expected around the March 9th-10th summit. But Mr Kenny said yesterday it was his understanding that London’s article 50 letter could be “delayed a little”.

Mr Juncker said he and his staff had the closest possible relationship with Ireland and Mr Kenny, something that he was confident would continue in the future.