Varadkar, May to discuss Brexit progress over dinner in Dublin

Theresa May was set to meet her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Friday for an update on efforts to get the Brexit withdrawal deal amended.

The pair will discuss the issue over dinner on Friday night after the taoiseach returns from meeting the leaders of Northern Ireland's main parties in Belfast.

“It’s an opportunity for us to meet again to share perspectives on Brexit but, of course, not to engage in negotiations, as they can only be between the European Union and the United Kingdom,” Varadkar said on Friday.

May met with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday as she sought “alternative arrangements” to replace the Irish backstop and get her deal through parliament. This was firmly rebuffed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

However, Juncker offered to be “more ambitious” in terms of the speed and content of reaching a future trade deal with the UK.

A no-deal Brexit would see the reintroduction of border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Dublin fears this could lead to a breakdown of the Good Friday Agreement that saw an end to decades of sectarian killing.

The backstop would force the UK to remain in the EU's customs union if no future trade deal was agreed before the Brexit transition period ends at the end of December 2020 or 2022 if both sides agree an extension.

“I think everybody wants to avoid no deal, everybody wants to avoid a hard border and everybody wants to continue to have a very close political and economic relationship between Britain and Ireland no matter want happens,” Varadkar said.

“There is much more that unites us than divides us and time is running short and we need to get to an agreement really as soon as possible, and I’ll be working very hard and redoubling my efforts, along with government, to do that.”