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Taoiseach Micheál Martin appealed for a deal to be made betweenthe European Union and the United Kingdom, insisting that there was a way forward for an agreement to be reached.
“I think the overall interests of the people of Europe it’s very important from my view that a deal is reached,” Mr Martin told journalists as he entered a meeting of fellow EU leaders in Brussels.
“I think the key to unlocking this is to stand back and look at the overall picture here. Ninety seven per cent of this is agreed. Are we saying that we’re going to lose out on a deal because of the three per cent?
“Notwithstanding the significance of the issue, the bottom line is that a hell of a lot of work has been done, a lot of agreement has been reached on quite a lot of this, so in my view one final effort is required here. There will obviously be a need for compromise at the end of the day.”
“UK standards and EU standards align on a lot of issues... I think there is a way through that in terms of the issues as seen by both sides. It is one that in my view can be negotiated. “
Earlier, Ireland’s EU Commissioner, Mairéad McGuinness said there was a “glimmer of hope” that a deal on Brexit could still be done following a crunch meeting between EU and British political leaders in Brussels on Wednesday but believed talks would “go to the wire”.
Ms McGuinness, the EU’s Commissioner for Financial Stability, said the fact that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated following her meeting with British prime minister, Boris Johnson that both sides had a clear understanding of each other’s position, despite being far apart on key issues, helped to clarify the “fault lines”.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland, Ms McGuinness said the instruction to ask negotiators to immediately resume talks about a possible deal represented “a glimmer of hope”.
“I think there will be a renewed effort by the negotiators to try and bridge what are very significant gaps,” said Ms McGuinness.
However, she accepted that both sides were no more certain there would be a conclusion to a possible Brexit deal following the meeting.
She said the Commission never had great expectations that Wednesday’s talks would deliver a breakthrough but said the outcome was better that a statement suggesting there would be no deal.
Ms McGuinness said the issue of standards remains the biggest issue between the two parties and was “becoming quite emotive on the UK side” by suggesting they were being forced by the EU to stick with EU rules.
However, Ms McGuinness said on practical a level she expected British farms exporting to the EU would want to meet those standards to ensure continued access to such markets.
“If you take some of the heat out of this discussion and look at the practical implications for businesses and individuals, I think on balance a deal and an agreement is must more important particularly in the eleventh hour,” she added.
Ms McGuinness said she did not believe the EU and the UK were engaging in a “blame game” although she acknowledged that could still happen.
Welcoming the UK’s reversal of its stance on the withdrawal agreement as an international treaty which it would honour, Ms McGuinness said it could help in creating a mood towards a trade agreement.