Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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122. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he spoke directly with the Polish Foreign Minister regarding the suggestion of putting a time limit on the EU backstop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4042/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have not yet had the opportunity to speak to Foreign Minister Czaputowicz since he made his comments on the backstop in a press interview. However, I addressed this issue with Minister Czaputowicz when he made this suggestion to me when we met during his visit to Dublin last December. On that occasion I made clear that a time-limit would be completely contrary to the purpose of the backstop. The backstop acts as an insurance policy for avoiding a hard border in all scenarios, and would not provide the necessary certainty if it is time-limited.

Since Minister Czaputowicz made his comments, our Ambassador in Warsaw has clarified with the Polish authorities that Poland maintains the EU’s unified position. This was confirmed by the Polish Prime Minister in his recent comments in Davos. This unified EU position was set out clearly by the European Council, including the Polish Prime Minister, on 13 December and reiterated in the joint letter from President Tusk and Juncker to Prime Minister May on 14 January.