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12th Mar 2019

Leo Varadkar releases statement on Brexit deal agreed between EU and UK

Alan Loughnane

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A deal was reached in Strasbourg.

The European Commission and United Kingdom have agreed a package of measures on the Irish backstop, following talks UK Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Juncker told reporters that a freshly negotiated legal add-on to the Brexit deal, emphasising the temporary nature of the Irish backstop, “complements the withdrawal agreement without reopening it”.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he “hopes and trusts” the withdrawal agreement will now be endorsed by the House of Commons.

Varadkar said that the instrument agreed in Strasbourg does not reopen the Withdrawal Agreement nor does it undermine the backstop.

He said the backstop must continue to apply “unless and until” it is replaced by future arrangements that ensure no hard border.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Brexit Lisa Chambers said that something has changed in the deal and that she wants to go through the documents more thoroughly today.

“If we compare this morning to yesterday morning, there is no doubt it is that little bit easier for the UK to exit the backstop than it was yesterday,” Chambers told Morning Ireland.

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