European Interest

Irish PM rejects May’s proposal of Canada-like border

Flickr/EU2017EE Estonian Presidency/CC BY 2.0
“I saw a hard border, with physical infrastructure, with customs posts, people in uniform with arms and dogs,” Varadkar was quoted by the Irish Times as saying.

British Prime Minister Theresa May‘s idea of arranging the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after the model of the US and Canada was rejected by Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. He also ruled out direct talks with London.

“That is definitely not a solution that we can possibly entertain,” said Vardakar.

As reported by Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, May has repeatedly stated there will be no hard border on the Irish island after Brexit.

In response to May’s proposal, one Labour MP asked her for an example of a border between two countries, not in a customs union, where trucks loaded with goods are not being checked.

“There are many examples of different arrangements for customs around the rest of the world and indeed we are looking at those, including for example the border between the United States and Canada,” said May.

Just hours later in Dublin, Ireland’s Leo Varadkar rejected the idea, citing his visit last year to the Canadian border. “I saw a hard border, with physical infrastructure, with customs posts, people in uniform with arms and dogs,” Varadkar was quoted by the Irish Times as saying.

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