Coveney: No EU disquiet on border inaction

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has strongly denied that European leaders have become frustrated with Ireland over its failure to plan to secure the border in the case of a no-deal Brexit. At this week’s EU summit, German chancellor Angela Merkel demanded that the EU establish a “special taskforce” on how to prevent a hard Irish border in a no-deal Brexit, warning that Ireland faces the nightmare scenario in just three weeks if nothing is done.

The Irish Examiner has learned that EU leaders discussed in detail for the first time the pressing need for a “fall-back” solution to the looming crisis, at a crunch summit meeting on Thursday night. Speaking at his party’s national conference in Wexford, Mr Coveney said the sensitivities around the border are well understood.