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The German government will stand up to pressure from its own car manufacturers to compromise on the backstop, the German justice minister has said.<\/p>\nThe German government will stand up to pressure from its own car manufacturers to compromise on the backstop, the German justice minister has said.<\/p>\n
Katarina Barley said the German government would stand firm in the face of demands from the major car makers, who rely on easy access to the British market, to strike a deal.<\/p>\n
The German auto industry has warned that the consequences of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on March 29 would be fatal.<\/p>\n
Ms Barley said the backstop was not open for renegotiation and that there was \u201crock-solid\u201d backing for the Withdrawal Agreement within the German government.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be absolutely sure that the German government backs the backstop idea and the agreement. Absolutely,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is rock-solid backing for this agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked would the German government be forced to bow to pressure from car manufacturers to compromise on the backstop and strike a deal, Ms Barley said: \u201cThere is no way that this [the Withdrawal Agreement] can be negotiated again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Barley made the comments during a visit to the border in Co. Louth this afternoon.<\/p>\n
She said it is only from hearing the stories of 30 years of violence and standing where \u201cbombs blew up\u201d that \u201cyou get a real feeling of how important the Good Friday Agreement is\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said it was up to the British government to put forward a solution to the current impasse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the British decision to leave the EU so it\u2019s their obligation also to propose how it will work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an agreement and we stick to this agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are other propositions by the British government to be made they may make them but the backstop is something that will not be negotiated, definitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cIf they want to make any change then they have to have very concrete ideas and propositions.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ms Barley said she couldn\u2019t see this happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only see and hear what they do not want and that is not enough,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Barley was accompanied on her tour of the border by Labour party leader Brendan Howlin, Labour senator Ged Nash and SDLP Brexit spokeswoman Claire Hanna.<\/p>\n
Ms Barley also met with Border Communities Against Brexit, the Center for Cross Border Studies, and the Dundalk and Drogheda Chambers of Commerce during her visit.<\/p>\n
Mr Howlin said it was very important to have such a senior German minister visit the border region and meet with border communities.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The border] has to be seen to be fully comprehended and understood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor that reason I would encourage not only our European colleagues to do that\u2026but our British colleagues who speak authoritatively about a border they\u2019ve never seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wexford TD said the withdrawal agreement was the only deal on the table.<\/p>\n
Ms Hanna praised the German minister for \u201ccoming and seeing first hand\u201d the complexity of the border issue.<\/p>\n
The Belfast MLA said: \u201cIt almost takes you to come to a place like this to see just how intertwined we are north and south and that it isn\u2019t about policing a line so to speak it\u2019s about all of the knock-on effects it has on businesses and communities on both sides of the border.\u201d<\/p>\n