Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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21. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagement with the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Antonio Tajani. [45717/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I had a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, in the margins of the European Council on 18 October.

We discussed the state of play in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the U.K. I thanked President Tajani for his ongoing strong solidarity in relation to our concerns and reiterated the need to ensure a legally operable and robust backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement.

I am pleased that agreement was subsequently reached at negotiator level on the draft Withdrawal Agreement and an outline of the Joint Political Declaration on the future relationship.

I look forward to attending the special meeting of the European Council this Sunday, where it is hoped that the 27 EU leaders will formally endorse the draft Withdrawal Agreement and Joint Political Declaration.