Varadkar: May must honour Irish border commitments in full

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned Theresa May she must honour her commitment "in full" to avoid a hard border in Ireland, stressing that time to secure a deal before Brexit is running out.

Speaking alongside European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker this morning, Varadkar told reporters a Brexit deal which doesn't include guarantees for keeping the Irish border open "is of no use to us whatsoever."

"Let me blunt, there isn't much time left if we are to conclude an agreement and have it operational by the time the UK leaves next March," he added.

"It's very simple," he added. "The UK gave the EU back in December a guarantee there'd be no hard border on the island of Ireland. In May, the Prime Minister wrote to the EU to say there'd be a backstop. We expect those commitments to be met in full."

He noted that the chaos of the last fortnight over the EU Withdrawal Bill was taking up valuable time to solve the impasse.

The UK government had expected to publish a Brexit white paper ahead of next week's June European Council, however that has been pushed back after the Cabinet failed to agree a position on the customs union.

Multiple sources have told City A.M. that ministers are coalescing around max fac – which so far has been rejected as not resolving the Irish border. However it is thought that sufficient modifications have now been made that it could pass the sniff test once it reaches Brussels.

However the lack of clarity is wearing thin in Dublin.

Varadkar's deputy Simon Coveney said: "We had asked for and looked for significant progress in June. The British government have been unable to deliver on that.

Juncker also warned against any "attempts to isolate" the Irish government through backchannel conversations. "Ireland is backed by the 26 members of the Commission," he said.

However, when asked if Theresa May was a trusted negotiator the Eurocrat said "yes".

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CityAM

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