Mark Rutte pulled no punches
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was quizzed on the issue of a hard border in Ireland by UK reporters this week. One reporter pinned him on whether or not any “concessions” could be made on the backstop to avoid a no-deal scenario which would potentially cripple the UK economy for days.
Rutte quickly shot him down: “The backstop was not our idea. We both agreed, UK and European Union, we don’t want a hard border in Ireland. That was a joint position. Then the UK government said three additional things: no hard border in the Irish sea, no membership of the customs union, and no free movement of people.
“Given that whole set of circumstances, the present deal is the only deal on the table.”
The reporter continued to ask Rutte if he was prepared to make concessions, such as a time-limit on the backstop.
“What would then happen when the backstop is gone? A hard border. And what does a hard border mean? End of the Good Friday Agreement and potentially back to the Troubles,” he replies.
Watch the full exchange below:
This is the sort of EU27 backing that Ireland has been getting this week – Mark Rutte Dutch PM talking to UK reporters in Davos:
“Backstop wasn’t our idea” … [ie UKs too] Given UKs red lines “it’s only thing on the table”… “what concessions do UK actually want?” pic.twitter.com/mOx8LoXSlD
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) January 27, 2019
As it stands, the UK is scheduled to leave the EU of 29 March. The withdrawal agreement agreed by Theresa May and the EU was defeated resoundingly in the House of Commons leaving very few options on the table.
