Enda Kenny to prioritise trade in first talks with PM Theresa May

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will today prioritise trade with the EU single market, and opposition to a return to a hard border in the North, during his first meeting with British prime minister Theresa May.

Key areas of trade, the Good Friday agreement, the common travel area with Ireland, and the post-Brexit EU landscape will all be discussed at 10 Downing St.

It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders since Ms May succeeded David Cameron as prime minister following the June 23 Brexit vote.

During a visit to Belfast yesterday, to meet leaders there, Ms May said “nobody wants a return to the border of the past”; comments seen as a boost for Mr Kenny’s position.

Government sources expect the “close relationship” between London and Dublin regarding trade and economies will be emphasised during discussions.

As home secretary and while campaigning for a remain vote, Ms May had said she found it “inconceivable” that border arrangements in the North would remain unchanged.

However, her new position — disclosed to the North’s leaders yesterday — will add momentum to Mr Kenny’s insistence there will be no European border from Louth to Donegal following Brexit.

But no quick or complete solution is expected from the meeting between the two leaders. Instead, sources expect that positions will be outlined and then later used in the run up to and during the next EU leaders summit in Bratislava in September.

A Government source said: “We will look after our own interest. But this is also about keeping a positive bilateral relationship.”

Theresa May.

The London meeting comes as French President François Hollande last week backed calls for Ireland to be considered a “special” case in Brexit negotiations, given the peace process.

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson yesterday criticised Mr Kenny’s approach to the post-Brexit talks. Speaking to RTÉ, he said Mr Kenny had previously floated the idea of an all-island forum on Brexit because of internal party pressure on him and the need to compete with Sinn Féin.

“We need leadership and I hope we will see that from the Taoiseach,” he said.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the option of Irish unity must be on the agenda during talks. “Brexit has the potential to undermine the Good Friday Agreement, undermine the all-Ireland economy, and undermine progress. The imposition of Brexit on Ireland again underlines the failure of partition,” he said, urging Mr Kenny to “advocate for all of Ireland”.