Irish PM meets Tusk: EU president arrives in Ireland for third Brexit visit in 3 months

The pair are expected to discuss Brexit, the draft withdrawal agreement and guidelines for the future relationship between the EU and UK.

The visit comes ahead of a European Council of EU leaders on March 22-23 on Brexit.

The EU chief pledged the bloc will stand with Ireland on ensuring a frictionless border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s position once the UK leaves the EU is holding up Brexit negotiations.

The visit comes as Mr Varadkar pledges to fight against a hard border in Ireland.

Mr Varadkar said the government will do “everything it can” to avoid a border after Irish Labour leader Brendan Howling claimed the “undeniable truth” was that “it is not possible” for there to be no border between the UK and Ireland if Britain pulls out of the single market and customs union.

Mr Howling slammed the British government and said it was “beyond belief” that two months after the referendum “the UK is still deaf to the fact that Ireland is negotiating as part of a bloc of 27”.

He asked: “Isn’t it time that we actually faced that reality and tried to find a solution before we slip over the edge?”

The DUP is adamantly opposed to any deal which makes Northern Ireland different from the rest of the EU in terms of trade, and have rejected calls for a border in the Irish Sea.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Transport Minister Shane Ross are meeting representatives of the aviation industry about Brexit today.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary warned that airlines would be forced to cancel post-Brexit services from March 2019 if no agreement was reached in the negotiations by September.

The airline boss also threatened to ground planes after Brexit in a bid to persuade British voters to “rethink” the exit.

Speaking in the Irish parliament yesterday Mr Varadkar said Ireland would not be “cleaved from the EU” into bilateral negotiations with the UK on Brexit, but it is “reasonable” to have discussions with the UK about avoiding a hard border.

Mr Tusk unveiled draft guidelines for the negotiations yesterday, due to be adopted at a summit later this month by the 27 remaining members of the EU.

The guidelines say that Brussels wants “as close as possible a partnership” with the UK after Brexit, but expects there will be “negative economic consequences”.

Speaking at a press conference in Luxembourg just hours after sending the guidelines to the EU27 capitals, Mr Tusk said Brussels hoped for an “ambitious and advanced” free trade agreement (FTA) with zero tariffs on goods but limited access for services.

Mr Tusk said: “I hope that it will be ambitious and advanced and that we will do our best, as we did with other partners such as Canada.