An “a la carte” Brexit reset is not on the table, the deputy prime minister of Ireland has warned as Sir Keir Starmer makes his first official visit to the UK’s nearest neighbour.
The prime minister travelled to Dublin on Saturday to meet Taoiseach Simon Harris ahead of the England football team’s match against the Republic of Ireland.
Just hours before his arrival, the tánaiste said that the EU wanted to see an improved EU-UK relationship, but the UK could not “cherry pick” new terms.
Micheál Martin also blamed Brexit for the deterioration in relations between the UK and Ireland.
Speaking to reporters at the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford on Friday, Mr Martin said that while the EU wants a “good and warm relationship” with the UK, it would not offer an “a la carte” menu from which Sir Keir can pick and choose.
“We would like to have an ease of trading relationships. But it has to be mutually beneficial,” he added.
One area Mr Martin addressed directly was a review of the sanitary and phytosanitary rules under the existing Brexit deal,which he said made “absolute sense”.
He said: ““Everybody talks about being in favour of reducing red tape and bureaucracy around trade.
“I think there are easy wins here. But it’s not for me to, sort of, be telling the British government what it should aim for, what it should go for. It has to assess what it can do within its political realities.”
The PM and Taoiseach will also meet Irish business leaders from companies including Accenture, Keelings and Primark, to encourage further trade and investment.
Sir Keir, whose visit to Ireland will be the first by a UK prime minister in five years, said: “The UK and Ireland share the strongest of ties – through our close geography, shared culture and the friendships of our people.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that.
“We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering on behalf of the British and Irish people – driving growth and prosperity in both our countries.
“The Taoiseach and I are in lockstep about our future, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration further.”
Mr Harris was the first international leader hosted by Sir Keir in the UK following the July election, in a bid to foster the close relationship.
Mr Harris said the meeting in Dublin was “an important moment of reset in British-Irish relations”.
He added: “I look forward to discussing with Prime Minister Starmer how to ensure that we seize this opportunity to put relations on a better and stronger footing.
“This will mean working on a joint plan to bring about a step-change in ambition and engagement between our two Governments over the coming period.
“We will also discuss, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, how to ensure that this moment of reset benefits the totality of relations across these islands today and into the future.”
Both leaders will attend the football tie, which kicks off at 5.00pm on Saturday.
