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'We back Ireland,' says EU chief Michel Barnier on Dublin visit

Michel Barnier (left), the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, meets with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Government Buildings in Dublin for talks ahead of the European Council meeting on Wednesday 
Michel Barnier (left), the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, meets with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Government Buildings in Dublin for talks ahead of the European Council meeting on Wednesday  Michel Barnier (left), the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, meets with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Government Buildings in Dublin for talks ahead of the European Council meeting on Wednesday 

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has met Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin and told him: "The EU will stand fully behind Ireland."

Mr Barnier also met Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Finance Minister Paschal Donohue ahead of the meeting of the EU27 on Wednesday when European leaders will discuss Theresa May's request for a further Brexit extension.

Speaking after today's meeting with the taoiseach, Mr Barnier said: "You have our full support and, I have said before, the backstop is currently the only solution we have found to maintain the status quo on the island of Ireland.

"If the UK were to leave the EU without a deal we would not discuss anything with the UK until there is an agreement for Ireland and Northern Ireland as well as for citizens' rights and the financial settlement."

He said the EU's 27 member states would remain fully united.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar expressed confidence that the EU-27 would reach agreement at Wednesday's European Council meeting of leaders.

Contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit has intensified in the Republic.

Mr Varadkar said other European states understood the need to protect the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

He added: "Should no deal arise, it will be a shared challenge."

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This was the fifth time Mr Barnier has visited the Republic in his current capacity.

He expressed hope that Conservative and Labour talks in London on a Brexit compromise would reach a "positive outcome".

He said future work on the customs union could be done extremely quickly.

Mr Barnier expressed confidence a solution would be found on how to protect the Good Friday Agreement all-Ireland structures as well as the integrity of the single market.

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At the weekend, Mr Varadkar said his own preference was for a longer extension than the June 30 date proposed by the UK.

"What we want to avoid is an extension that just allows for more indecision and more uncertainty," he added.

'We back Ireland,' says EU chief Michel Barnier on Dublin visit
'We back Ireland,' says EU chief Michel Barnier on Dublin visit

Mr Varadkar also said the prospect of one of the EU27 saying no to any form of extension at the European Council meeting was "extremely unlikely".

The Taoiseach said any country that vetoed a further Brexit extension would not be forgiven by other member states.

Mr Barnier's visit is the latest evidence of intensifying diplomatic exchanges between the Dublin government and key EU figures in the Brexit process.

Last week, Mr Varadkar held bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin.