MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Theresa May on “alternative arrangements” mission to Brussels and Dublin

Mrs May will be travelling to Brussels on Thursday to meet EU leaders in a bid to break the Brexit impasse.

The British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Dublin on Friday evening for Brexit talks, Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Mr Varadkar was speaking after his meeting with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels this afternoon.

Mrs May will be travelling to Brussels on Thursday to meet EU leaders in a bid to break the Brexit impasse. “I'll be meeting Prime Minister May; she'll be coming to Dublin on Friday evening, and we'll have dinner together,” the Taoiseach said.

“It's an opportunity as well to discuss the situation and work together to chart a way forward.”

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Mr Juncker said the Withdrawal Agreement was not open for renegotiation and that the backstop is needed for “obvious, vital reasons”.

“The backstop is a guarantee for Ireland and it is a guarantee for the European Union because the Irish border is a European border,” he said.

Mr Juncker said the EU “could not accept the idea which has been circulated around that the Withdrawal Agreement could be reopened”.

He said alternative arrangements “can never replace the backstop” and also rejected giving the UK a way to unilaterally pull out of the backstop.

“A safety net is not a safety net if it can be destroyed by the unilateral actions of one of the parties,” he said.

Speaking alongside the European Commission president, the Taoiseach concurred that they continue to stand by the Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop.

“The Withdrawal Agreement let's not forget is already compromise. It was co-designed with the British Government, contains large elements that they designed and requested,” he said.

“Of course, we will always listen to suggestions that the UK Government has to make, particularly in relation to the joint Political Declaration on the future relationship, but that is very much in the context of the future relationship.”

“This March 29 deadline is a deadline set in Britain by Britain and it is open to the UK to request an extension to Article 50, provided there's a purpose to that, or to revoke Article 50 if that's their wish.”

He dismissed the Commons vote for “alternative arrangements” to replace the backstop, claiming the Westminster majority for it “probably only exists because alternative arrangements can mean whatever you want them to mean”.

“I don't believe that would have passed if people actually had to get into the detail of what alternative arrangements might mean or might not mean,” he said.

Any work on finding alternative arrangements “cannot be done in such a way that deletes the backstop”, he added.

In response to their comments, Downing Street insisted the EU would have to give ground in order for a deal to be agreed.

“Leo Varadkar said that they want the UK to leave with a deal, Donald Tusk said earlier today their priority is avoiding no deal,” Theresa May's official spokesman said.

“The fact is that the deal that was on the table has been rejected by 230 votes. So if, as they state, they wish for us to leave with a deal there are going to have to be changes made in order to address concerns which MPs have on the backstop.”

In a further joint statement issued earlier following their meeting today, Mr Juncker and the Taoiseach reiterated that the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation and is “the best and only deal possible”.

They said the backstop “is a necessary legal guarantee to protect peace and to ensure there will be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland”, as well as protecting the single market and customs union.

“The Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop, is a balanced compromise, representing a good outcome for citizens and businesses on all sides, including in Northern Ireland,” the statement said.