FILE PHOTO: Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz addresses the media in Vienna, Austria December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - The Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union cannot be renegotiated but the EU should consider giving assurances on the so-called Irish backstop without reopening the deal, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s office said on Tuesday.

“The crunch point for many British members of parliament is the duration of the Irish backstop,” Kurz’s office said in a statement on phone conversations he had with British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

“The extent to which the British side here can be given additional certainty without reopening the withdrawal agreement should be examined,” it added. Austria holds the rotating EU presidency.