05/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – British leader Theresa May will meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Thursday, 7 February, announced the European institution’s spokesperson, Margaritis Schinas, on 5 February. She will come to present “her ideas”, particularly on Northern Ireland, the British nation to which Mrs May began a two-day visit on Tuesday. Last week, the leader, who will also meet with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, received a mandate from her parliament to reopen discussions and negotiations with the EU on the backstop for Ireland, designed to prevent the return of a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland (see EUROPE 12183). This hypothetical legal mechanism is rejected across the Channel, as the EU reiterates that it is not renegotiable. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar will precede Mrs May by travelling to Brussels on 6 February. (SP)