Brexit DELAY: Ireland calls for Article 50 EXTENSION as deadline for deal looms
IRELAND has thrown its full support behind a delay to Brexit as negotiators from the UK and European Union attempt to hammer out a deal before the December deadline.
Brexit: Irish Foreign Minister warns Brexiteers over no-deal
Irish deputy leader Simon Coveney said Dublin would “absolutely” back an extension of the Article 50 process if the UK Government requests it.
He also warned Theresa May’s Government would not have time to finalise a deal unless talks are “intensified”.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, after which point a two-year transition period will begin.
But despite months of talks, an agreement has yet to be reached on a series of major issues - including how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Asked whether Ireland would back an extension to the Article 50 process, Mr Coveney said: “Absolutely, if Britain asks for more time and if that is necessary to get to a sensible agreement, we would support that, of course we would.
“But I think, even though the timetable is tight, it is possible to achieve an outcome that is good for Britain and good for the EU within the timelines that are currently there.
“But it also requires an intensification of the negotiations on Brexit.”
Mr Coveney also dismissed talk of a no deal Brexit as “bravado” and said Britain “cannot afford” to leave with bloc without an agreement in place.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he confirmed Dublin is working on contingency plans in case of no deal.
But he admitted it is “very unlikely” to happen.
He said: “The truth is I don’t believe that Britain can afford a no-deal Brexit, I don’t believe Ireland or the EU want that either.
“The negative implications of a no-deal Brexit are very significant for Ireland and the UK. We all have an obligation to make sure that doesn’t happen. I think it’s very unlikely to happen.”
Leaders from across the EU will convene at a major summit in mid-December for what is likely to be the last practical date for a divorce deal to be signed off.
But the Prime Minister is facing a series of challenges on multiple fronts as she battles against pressure from Brexiteers in her own party while trying to convince Brussels her vision for the split is workable.
Mr Coveney, who also serves as Ireland’s foreign minister, warned Mrs May would need to make concessions on her plans for future trade with the EU.
Referring to a section of the Prime Minister’s Chequers deal which proposes close ties on the trade in goods but not in services, he said: “It will be difficult to separate goods and services.
“If you look at a car, a large part of that is services as well as the physical components which are goods.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We will not extend Article 50. We are leaving the EU on 29 March, 2019.”