Taoiseach: Trump should not be interfering in UK or EU politics
The Taoiseach has hit out comments made by Donald Trump, claiming the US president should not be interfering in UK or EU politics.
Attending a rural Ireland event in Westport, Co Mayo this afternoon, Leo Varadkar said the American president simply wants to break up the EU and does not represent the views of the British people.
Ireland will only be strong & prosperous when the entire country is strong & prosperous. Half of our population lives in communities of less than 10,000. Through Project #Ireland2040 we will support these communities, investing in rural & infrastructure & improving connectivity. pic.twitter.com/2KOb2UpABS
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) July 13, 2018
Reacting to an internal EU document that has warned all member states, companies and stakeholders to step up preparation for a no-deal Brexit scenario, Mr Varadkar agreed that there will be changes to our ports and airports post-Brexit.
"At the summit in Brussels two weeks ago in our conclusions we called all member States to step up preparations for the possibility of a no deal Brexit, that's not that we think that it's a likely outcome but we think it is prudent that every member State plan for the worst, that would be a hard Brexit without deal and that's exactly what what we are doing.
"We will need to make preparations for changes at our ports and airports, even if there isn't a hard Brexit or a no-deal scenario, once Britain decides to leave the EU at some point in the future there may need to be checks that currently don't exist and that's really where the preparations centre on - ports and airports that deal with trade with the UK," the Taoiseach said.
Mr Varadkar said there are no plans for Mr Trump to visit Ireland adding that he strongly disagreed with him when he said Mrs May is not going about Brexit in the right way.
"I don't think that when you are a foreign president or foreign prime minister that you should interfere in the internal politics of another country and I don't think that's helpful.
"Secondly his view seems to be that the people of the United Kingdom voted for a hard Brexit, my view is different it is that it they barely voted for Brexit, they voted 52-48 and of course Scotland and Northern Ireland didn't vote for it at all.
"I really think what prime minister May is trying to do is to reflect the view of the British people which was barely to leave, not the Donald Trump view which in his is words I think were to break up the EU, which is not what the British people want and certainly not what Europe wants."
