Sharp backstop differences between Varadkar and May
EU chief negotiator Barnier says the UK’s White Paper is ‘proven unworkable’
Theresa May delivers a speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, on Friday. The British prime minister challenged the EU to reply to last week’s British government White Paper. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Reuters
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the British prime minister Theresa May differed sharply on the Border backstop on Friday, with Mr Varadkar saying it was the UK’s responsibility to come up with a solution, while Ms May insisted it was up to the EU to overcome the logjam in the negotiations that threaten a “no deal” Brexit next March.
At the same time in Brussels, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the British Brexit White Paper was largely unworkable and raised fundamental questions for the European Union.