TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he would prefer Britain to stay in the EU but respects their decision to leave.
The Taoiseach was speaking ahead of the EU’s acceptance of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement.
The leaders of the 27 EU countries took less than an hour to finalise their acceptance of the deal at a special meeting in Brussels this morning.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Varadkar said: “The best outcome for Ireland and for Europe and Britain would be for the UK to stay in the EU and stay in the single market and the customs union, but we respect their decision not to do that.
“We have an agreement that allows for an orderly withdrawal.”
Challenge
The EU released a statement this morning confirming it had endorsed the withdrawal agreement and approved the political declaration on its the future relationship with the UK.
Despite the EU’s acceptance of the agreement, Mrs May faces a challenge to have her deal accepted by UK Parliament, with many MPs opposed to it.
Arlene Foster, whose DUP party props up May’s Conservatives, told Andrew Marr the deal ‘goes against everything’ the Prime Minister has promised.
“We’re disappointed with the way this has progressed,” she told the BBC political commentator.
“She (Theresa May) is a unionist, but this deal goes against everything she has said about all of that.”
“We should use the time now to look for a third way,” she added.
Mrs Foster also said that if the deal was accepted by parliament, the DUP would review its confidence & supply agreement with the Tories.
