The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, in Dublin in the early evening of Wednesday 15 January. At the centre of their discussions: Brexit, scheduled for the end of January, the European Green Deal and the post-2020 European budget.
While announcing Parliamentary elections on 8 February to mark a new page with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom, the Taoiseach recalled the European red lines in the negotiation box on post-Brexit relations with London.
London will need to ensure a “level playing field” with the EU and not undermine European standards, the Irish Prime Minister said. He had the opportunity to discuss this with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, a few days before. “And I think he's got it”, the Irishman added.
For her part, Mrs von der Leyen reiterated that the further London moves away from European standards, the “further away” the British will be from the European single market in this future trading partnership.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us”, continued the President of the Commission. First, it will be necessary to “monitor very closely the implementation” of the protocol on Northern Ireland contained in the agreement on an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom as negotiated by Mr Johnson and the Twenty-Seven. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)