Irish PM, Merkel ready to aid May over Brexit

Bloomberg

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he shares with German chancellor Angela Merkel a “strong desire” to help their British counterpart Theresa May break an impasse over Brexit.
British politicians return to Parliament on Monday to grapple with navigating the UK’s path out of the European Union. Critics of May’s plan fear the UK could be trapped indefinitely in a backup arrangement for the Irish border, effectively keeping the whole country inside the EU’s customs union trade rules. The premier is hoping for a new legal definition to reassure her critics that the so called Irish backstop will be “temporary”.
Varadkar said he and Merkel had discussed how they might aid May in her battle to forge a way forward. The pair spoke for 40 minutes by phone at the German leader’s request.
“There was certainly agreement from both of us that we weren’t in a position to reopen negotiations of the withdrawal agreement or the backstop,” Varadkar told a group of reporters in Seeon, Germany, after he addressed members of Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union party.
“But also a very strong desire by both of us to do anything we can within reason to assist the British government.”
Lawmakers at Westminster are due to vote on May’s plan in 10 days. Varadkar said he could foresee a series of votes in parliament on various Brexit options if the current deal is defeated, and repeated that the EU’s position could evolve should Britain drop some of its red lines around the project.