Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 22, inclusive, together.

I meet and speak regularly with my EU counterparts bilaterally and at formal and informal meetings of the European Council. I had the opportunity to meet with several of my counterparts at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, including the Prime Ministers of Poland, Austria, Luxembourg, Croatia and the Netherlands. I also spoke recently by telephone with Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain, as well as the newly-elected Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš. All of my counterparts assured me of their full commitment to the withdrawal agreement, including the protocol on Ireland within which is contained the backstop, and their view that it cannot be renegotiated. Other EU issues also arose in our conversations.

Most recently, I travelled to Brussels last Wednesday for a series of meetings with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his deputy, Sabine Weyand, and the chair of the European Parliament Brexit steering group, Guy Verhofstadt, as well as Commissioner Phil Hogan. I also spoke by telephone with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

President Tusk and I discussed the latest political developments in London and noted the approaching deadline for the UK's departure from the EU. We agreed that the withdrawal agreement is the best deal possible and that it cannot be reopened. While we hope that the backstop will never be used, it is needed as a legal guarantee to ensure there is no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland, while protecting the integrity of the Single Market and the customs union. In my meeting with President Juncker, he restated his firm view that the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, should not be renegotiated. We agreed that while on the EU side, we will continue to seek agreement on the orderly withdrawal of the UK, given the ongoing uncertainty in London we will also further intensify our preparations for a no-deal scenario.

President Juncker confirmed that the Commission stands ready to assist Ireland in meeting the specific challenges we face as a result of Brexit, particularly in very vulnerable sectors such as agriculture, agrifood, fisheries and small exporters. He also confirmed that programmes providing assistance for cross-Border peace and reconciliation will be strengthened, not diminished. We agreed that Ireland and the Commission will continue to work closely together over the period ahead. A number of other issues also arose in my meeting with President Juncker, including the free trade agreement between the EU and Japan and the situation in Venezuela.

Both President Tajani and Guy Verhofstadt, MEP confirmed to me that the European Parliament is committed to protecting peace and stability on the island of Ireland and that it wishes to emphasise and remind people that any withdrawal agreement must be approved by the European Parliament as well as Westminster. I thanked all my colleagues for their strong commitment and noted that as a small country, this strong solidarity resonates deeply in Ireland and other small countries.

I engage regularly with Prime Minister May. Most recently, I met with her over dinner in Dublin last Friday and we briefed each other on our respective engagements in Belfast and Brussels earlier that week. We discussed developments in Northern Ireland and our shared interest in seeing the devolved institutions restored. I reiterated our wish to see the withdrawal agreement ratified in order that negotiations on a close, ambitious and comprehensive relationship between the EU and the UK can start immediately. Other EU and international engagements are envisaged in the period ahead. I will be happy to inform the House of these in due course.

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