'ALTERNATIVE arrangements' will "never replace the backstop", European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has said.

Following a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Juncker sternly warned there are no new options on the table for the British government.

He said Prime Minister Theresa May, who travels to Brussels tomorrow and Dublin on Friday, knows the Commission is “not prepared to reopen” the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated last year.

Mr Juncker’s comments came just hours after European Council President Donald Tusk enraged many British politicians and the DUP by asking about a “special place in hell” for those who supported Brexit but didn’t have a plan.

The Commission chief brushed aside questions on Mr Tusk’s provocative language – but did make it clear that EU is tired of the UK’s dithering on Brexit.

“We are sticking to the line,” he said in relation to the backstop, which is a legal mechanism to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Asked by Independent.ie whether financial supports will be available for Irish industry in the event of a no-deal scenario, Mr Juncker said Ireland would “not be left alone”.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the EU will “always listen to suggestions that the UK government has to make”.

He said the “threat of a no-deal is not a threat the EU is making”.

But Mr Varadkar said he does have a concern about the idea of ‘alternative arrangements’ being pursued by Mrs May at this late stage.

He said the phrases “can mean whatever you want it to mean” but it cannot result in the deletion of the backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement.

The two men met in Brussels alongside a selection of other senior diplomats, including Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier.

In a joint statement, Mr Varadkar and Mr Juncker reiterated a desire that the backstop will never come into use.

However, they said it is “balanced compromise, representing a good outcome for citizens and businesses on all sides, including in Northern Ireland.

“The backstop is not a bilateral issue, but a European one. Ireland's border is also the border of the European Union and its market is part of the Single Market. We will stay united on this matter.”

Ireland is increasingly prepared for a no-deal Brexit, Mr Varadkar added, while highlighting Ireland did not want things to end in such an abrupt split.

"I am confident a solution can be found," Varadkar said after talks with Mr Juncker. "Ireland is increasingly prepared for a no-deal."

Online Editors