ANGELA MERKEL HAS not been able to reassure Enda Kenny that Ireland will get any special treatment when the UK leaves the European Union, Cliodhna Russell reports from Berlin.
Speaking after a private meeting with the Taoiseach in Berlin this afternoon, the German Chancellor said:
“It’s difficult to give guarantees at this point of time. We don’t even have the position of the UK, we have to wait for Great Britain to take a stand and give us an idea of the type of relationship they are thinking about.
The Irish voice will be heard as much as every other voice.
However, Merkel said Germany will work with Ireland “in a special friendship” following on from Brexit, adding, “We will approach the post-Brexit challenges on the basis of friendship between the two countries.”
The meeting was held so the pair could discuss the future direction of Europe.
Addressing reporters in Berlin, Kenny outlined Ireland’s commitment to EU membership and referenced specific Irish concerns, such as having a common travel area with the UK – something that has been in place since 1922.
There is €1.2 billion-worth of trade across the Irish sea every week and that means there are 200,000 people in Ireland dependent on their employment on exports to Britain and an equivalent amount in Britain exporting to Ireland.
“Obviously Britain exports most of its goods to countries close by: Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
“Many of the economic studies pre-the Brexit decision did point out Ireland would be one of the most adversely affected from the Brexit outcome, and that Northern Ireland would actually be the most specifically adversely affected.”
Border from Dundalk to Derry
Kenny also said he doesn’t want to see a European border that runs from Dundalk to Derry but that he can’t say what will happen until Britain lays out its exit plans.
“If you have access to the single market, and free movement of goods and services, then depending on how our negotiations go, you need to be able to monitor and understand the movement of goods from and between a member state of the EU and one that is not a member of the EU.
We don’t want to see a EU border running from Dundalk to Derry, as there would be a lot of complications for goods and people moving from the Republic to Northern Ireland and vice versa.
The meeting with Merkel comes at a time when Kenny faces domestic pressures with backbenchers circling, anxious that if a snap election is called, he will have to continue to lead Fine Gael – a prospect some don’t relish.
When questioned on any possible heave against him, the Taoiseach insisted that his leadership of the party will continue.
“In respect of the government and the party, we are in a position now where the government is in situ, every minister has a brief and a set of commitments to follow through.
What I am interested in is that ministers have time now to bed themselves down and do the departmental work they have to undertake to move the country forward.
The Taoiseach added, “We are a member of the EU and we will continue to be a member of the union and obviously the advantages that flow from that will be part and parcel, that’s why we have made so much progress over the years.”
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