Taoiseach defends Brexit talks strategy
Stephen Donnelly: Government ‘losing leverage’ by allowing negotiations to move on without clarity on Border
Stephen Donnelly: The Government needed clarity on the Border. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/The Irish Times
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has rejected criticism of the Government’s Brexit negotiations and said Dublin has secured “a firm commitment” from the United Kingdom guaranteeing no future hard border in Ireland.
Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, Mr Varadkar said the United Kingdom had this week reaffirmed the promise in the EU-UK agreement in December to stand behind the “backstop” ensuring Northern Ireland would effectively remain under EU economic rules if there was no deal on Brexit.