Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Friday that a possible extension of Britain’s post-Brexit transition period would not diminish Ireland’s need for a “backstop” to avoid a hard Border.

He also told reporters on the third day of EU summit meetings in Brussels that it would be up to British Prime Minister Theresa May to decide whether she had to defy opposition from the Democratic Unionist Party and agree to the EU’s proposed backstop, which would potentially create trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.