Ireland PM: ‘We got EXACTLY what we wanted’ from UK as he pushes for 'FULL EU alignment'
IRISH Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland has got exactly what it wanted from Brexit talks as he continues his push for "full alignment" between the UK and EU.
Irish PM on Brexit: We have achieved all we set out to achieve
Irish PM Leo Varadkar claimed the whole of the UK should have “full alignment” with Ireland after Brexit.
Speaking live from Dublin, Mr Varadkar said: “We have achieved all that we wanted to achieve in stage one of these negotiations.
“We have the assurances and guarantees that we need from the United Kingdom and support for them from the European Union.
“I’m satisfied that sufficient progress has now been made on the Irish issues. The parameters have been set and they are good.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland has got what it wanted from negotiations on the Irish border
“Now we can move on to work out the detail of what has been agreed to talk about the transition phase, free trade and the new relationship between the EU and the UK.
“This is not the end but it is the end of the beginning.”
Mr Varadkar said there is a backstop arrangement in place where Northern Ireland and even the rest of the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with the Republic of Ireland.
The “full alignment” would mean that Northern Ireland will follow the rules of the internal market and customs union in order to avoid a hard Irish border.
Simon Coveney: Brexit now CAN'T result in a hard border
The EU had previously refused to progress on to trade talks until progress was made on the Irish border issue, citizens’ rights and the financial settlement.
But the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed with Theresa May on Friday that enough progress been has made on key Brexit issues in order to move on to trade talks.
Negotiators have now published the full text of the agreement, which Mrs May said her DUP partners had agreed to back after "significant improvements" were made.
It has been confirmed by EU officials that there will be a “cliff edge” at the end of the transition period if there is no trade deal in place by March 2019.
The 2-year transition period will not be treated as an implementation period as previously suggested by Theresa May.