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Negotiations on the UK and EU\u2019s future relationship does not have to be a contest with winners and losers, The Taoiseach has insisted.<\/p>\nNegotiations on the UK and EU\u2019s future relationship does not have to be a contest with winners and losers, The Taoiseach has insisted.<\/p>\n
After holding talks with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said both sides could work together to strike a mutually beneficial deal.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar also made clear there will always be a place for the UK at the EU table if Brexit does not work out well.<\/p>\n
After his meeting with Mr Barnier at Government Buildings, Mr Varadkar was asked about comments in a TV interview when he used a football analogy to suggest the EU would have the \u201cstronger team\u201d in the negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland will be friends to the United Kingdom into the future, we want to be friends with our nearest neighbor,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there should be no doubt that we are on \u2018Team EU\u2019, we are part of the 27 and maintain solidarity with all the member states and European institutions that showed solidarity with us over the past two or three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you see this as a contest, the European Union is in a very strong position \u2013 we\u2019re 27 countries, we have a population of 450 million people and the single market is the largest economy in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t think we have to see it as a contest. There is a possibility for us to work together with the United Kingdom over the next few months and come to a future relationship and a trade agreement that\u2019s mutually beneficial, and that\u2019s the spirit in which we will be entering these talks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier said he would present EU member states with a draft negotiating mandate next month ahead of March\u2019s EU Council summit, where the bloc\u2019s finalized stance on talks will be ratified.<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier said the UK\u2019s level of access to the single market would be proportionate to the commitments Britain gave to comply with EU regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for the second round,\u201d he said of the negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time it is very short, (we) have no time to lose in any politics. I always worked with everybody in UK with respect and I will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly ruled out requesting an extension to the transition period, during which the UK abides by EU rules, to facilitate further talks.<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier said if no agreement was reached by the end of the year it \u201ccannot be business as usual\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are to face a risk of a cliff edge, in particular for trade,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will use this time maintaining our line, protecting our interests, our principles and always willing to build the strong and ambitious partnership.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK is there as a friend and an ally for our common security and economic partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar, who reiterated his own concerns about being able to strike a deal by December 31, said the UK would be welcomed back into the EU if it ever wanted to return.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Friday, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union, we\u2019ll say goodbye to an old friend embarking on an adventure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope it works out for them. But if it does not, there will always be a seat kept for them at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of the meeting with Mr Barnier, the Taoiseach told the BBC the EU would enter talks in a stronger position than the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European Union is a union of 27 member states. The UK is only one country. And we have a population and a market of 450 million people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK, it\u2019s about 60 (million). So if these were two teams up against each other playing football, who do you think has the stronger team?\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, Mr Varadkar denied he used the words \u201cupper hand\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I used the term strong hand rather than upper hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the BBC interview, Mr Varadkar also warned against a \u201cpiecemeal\u201d approach to the talks, with the UK wishing to only focus on certain aspects of the future relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I hear people talk about piecemeal, it sounds a bit like cake and eat it,\u201d he said. \u201cThat isn\u2019t something that will fly in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach also told the BBC that the UK\u2019s colonial history may have led politicians to misunderstand the way the EU worked in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are people in Britain who thought that France, Germany and Britain would get together at a big summit and tell the smaller countries what\u2019s what,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the way the 21st century works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about his meeting with Mr Johnson on the Wirral last autumn \u2013 an encounter seen as vital in securing a Brexit breakthrough \u2013 Mr Varadkar said the chance for the two men to sit down and \u201ctalk turkey\u201d in the absence of officials had been key.<\/p>\n
Amid claims from Mr Johnson that the deal will not involve checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, Mr Varadkar said the Withdrawal Deal stated in \u201cblack and white\u201d that some checks would be required.<\/p>\n
After his meeting in Dublin, Mr Barnier said the Withdrawal Agreement would not have been possible without the unified approach of people and politicians in Ireland.<\/p>\n
He singled out Mr Varadkar and his team for particular praise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the moment has finally come \u2013 the UK leaving the EU on Friday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully, it is leaving with a deal. It was not easy to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the forthcoming General Election, Mr Barnier insisted a change in government would not impact his working relationship with Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will work with the government chosen by the citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n