Chancellor Angela Merkel says Ireland can rely on Germany in Brexit talks as the European Union and Britain seek a way to keep its border with Northern Ireland open after Britain's departure.
Merkel met Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Berlin today, a day after EU and British negotiators said there had been no breakthrough on the Irish border issue despite announcing major progress in Brexit talks.
Merkel said "a solution must be found for this ... and Germany fully supports the Irish position." Varadkar stressed a "backstop solution" under which Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU's customs union while the rest of the UK leaves must "apply unless and until a workable alternative agreed solution is found." He said that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.