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The T\u00e1naiste Simon Coveney has said the UK’s current approach to Brexit simply won’t work.<\/p>\nThe T\u00e1naiste Simon Coveney has said the UK’s current approach to Brexit simply won’t work.<\/p>\n
It comes after Leo Varadkar warned Boris Johnson that negotiating a new agreement by the crucial EU summit will be \u201cvery difficult\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney, who met with the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels yesterday evening, said: “If the approach from the British Government is ‘take it or leave it’ on the basis of the proposal coming from the British Prime Minister last week, well then the British side must know that there is not going to be a deal.”<\/p>\n
There should be a focus on securing a Brexit deal rather than looking for someone to blame, according to the T\u00e1naiste.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney said there is too much on the line for Brexit to become a blame-game.<\/p>\n
He said: “This is far too enormous an issue, quite frankly, in terms of the future relationship of the UK and the EU and the UK and Ireland to be focusing on the politics of blame rather than the politics of trying to get a deal.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the new president of the European Parliament has said there has been “no progress” on Brexit following talks with Mr Johnson in Downing Street.<\/p>\n
“I came here in the confident hope of hearing proposals that could take negotiations forward,” David Sassoli said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“However, I must note that there has been no progress.”<\/p>\n
Mr Sassoli said the UK leaving with a deal was “by far the best outcome” – but the European Parliament “will not agree a deal at any price”.<\/p>\n
He added: “We have examined the UK proposals to replace the original backstop and our response is that these are a long way from something to which the parliament could agree.<\/p>\n
“In addition, they are not immediately operable.”<\/p>\n
The British Prime Minister\u2019s chances of a breakthrough with Brussels were looking increasingly unlikely yesterday after accusations from Number 10 that the bloc was making it \u201cessentially impossible\u201d for Britain to leave with a deal.<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson will hope to gain concessions from the Taoiseach during in-person talks to avert a no-deal exit anticipated later this week.<\/p>\n
But with the October 31 deadline rapidly closing in, the Taoiseach warned of the challenges of securing a new deal by next week \u2013 a key period in the Brexit saga with the summit in Brussels.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar said Ireland and the EU would not accept an agreement at \u201cany cost\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some fundamental objectives that haven\u2019t changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed,\u201d he told RTE news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially what the United Kingdom has done is repudiate the deal that we negotiated in good faith with Prime Minister (Theresa) May\u2019s government over two years and sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying, \u2018That\u2019s a concession\u2019. And of course it isn\u2019t really.\u201d<\/p>\n
The British PM had spoken to Mr Varadkar by telephone for about 40 minutes earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson needs a deal sorted by the end of October 17\/18 if he is to avoid a dilemma over the Benn Act, which compels him to ask Brussels for an extension if he cannot get an agreement past MPs when he returns, a move he has ruled out taking.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, there was fury in Brussels following a series of No 10 briefings claiming German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made clear a deal was now \u201coverwhelmingly unlikely\u201d.<\/p>\n
No 10 sources claimed Mrs Merkel had told the PM that Britain could not leave the EU unless it was prepared to leave Northern Ireland behind in a permanent customs union.<\/p>\n
European Council president Donald Tusk accused Mr Johnson of engaging in a \u201cstupid blame game\u201d ahead of next week\u2019s crucial EU summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want a deal, you don\u2019t want an extension, you don\u2019t want to revoke, quo vadis (where are you going)?\u201d<\/p>\n
But Jean-Claude Juncker went on to say that if negotiations fail, \u201cthe explanation will be found in the British camp (because) the original sin is found on the islands and not on the continent\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the French Les Echos newspaper, the European Commission president added: \u201cA no-deal Brexit would lead to a collapse of the United Kingdom at a weakening of growth on the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PM also hosted European Parliament president David Sassoli in Downing Street yesterday, but the MEP left saying \u201cno progress\u201d had been made.<\/p>\n
Mr Sassoli later told the BBC\u2019s Newsnight program: \u201cAngela Merkel\u2019s opinions must be taken seriously. We are all very worried because there are only a few days left.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we understand that going out without an agreement leads to having a real problem, if not a real catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson had reiterated to the president his warning that the UK would leave by the Halloween deadline regardless of whether a deal was in place.<\/p>\n
Hardball tactics from No 10 even alarmed some ministers, after sources warned Britain could break off security co-operation with the EU if it was prevented from leaving on October 31.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith tweeted that \u201cany threat on withdrawing security co-operation with Ireland is unacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n
The dramatic escalation in the war of words between Brussels and London followed a telephone call on Tuesday between Mr Johnson and Mrs Merkel to discuss the latest UK proposal to resolve the deadlock over the Northern Ireland backstop.<\/p>\n
EU leaders have dismissed the plan as the basis for a settlement as it would mean the return of customs checks on the island of Ireland, albeit taking place well away from the border between the North and the Republic.<\/p>\n
A No 10 source said Mrs Merkel had told the Prime Minister Ireland must at least have a veto on Northern Ireland leaving the EU with the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very useful clarifying moment in all sorts of ways,\u201d the unnamed source, quoted by Sky News, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this represents a new established position, then it means a deal is essentially impossible, not just now but ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PM\u2019s official spokesman acknowledged there had been a \u201cfrank exchange\u201d with Mrs Merkel and that the talks had reached a \u201ccritical point\u201d, but refused to be drawn any further on the \u201csource\u201d claims.<\/p>\n
The row followed a briefing to The Spectator magazine, also citing a contact in No 10, warning the Government could do \u201call sorts of things\u201d to get around the Benn Act, which requires the PM to seek a further Brexit delay if he cannot get a deal by October 19.<\/p>\n
The source \u2013 widely thought to be Mr Johnson\u2019s chief adviser Dominic Cummings \u2013 said it would treat any support by EU leaders for a new extension as \u201chostile interference\u201d in UK politics, and that future defense and security co-operation would \u201cinevitably\u201d be affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t engage in further talks, we obviously won\u2019t given any undertakings about co-operative behavior, everything to do with \u2018duty of sincere cooperation\u2019 will be in the toilet,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n