Varadkar Confident of Keeping Border Invisible in No-Deal Brexit

(Bloomberg) -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar signlaled he’s confident some special arrangement can be found to keep border in Ireland invisible in a no-deal Brexit.

Ireland is hoping to win a special deal with both the U.K. and EU that would keep the border with Northern Ireland open if the U.K. leaves the bloc without a withdrawal deal. The frontier will be the only land crossing between the EU and U.K. after Brexit, and how to keep it open has become a key stumbling block in talks between the two sides.

“The U.K. government has already indicated that in the event of no deal the first thing they will do is treat Northern Ireland differently in terms of customs,” Varadkar said in an RTE Radio interview on Sunday. “That’s what will be required essentially”

Varadkar said talks on the matter have already begun in a “preliminary and very rough way,” he said. “There is a real understanding of the unique situation we face in Ireland.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Dara Doyle

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