Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe said he believes that “Germany will be protecting Ireland” during Brexit trade talks.
This comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined Germany’s plans for its six month presidency of the European Council.
In her address to the European Parliament in Brussels, Merkel spoke about economic recovery post-pandemic, along with addressing the UK’s exit from the EU.
She told MEPs she would continue to push for a solution with the UK, but warned that the EU should also prepare for a possible no-deal scenario.
Responding to this, Green Party MEP for Dublin Ciarán Cuffe told EuroParlRadio that he believes Germany will be an ally of Ireland during the ongoing Brexit trade negotiations.
I think Germany will be upholding the EU and, therefore, will be protecting Ireland in all of this.
“I think that has certainly been spoken about previous to this and with the handover from Croatia to Germany, there will be a lot more staff working on these issues.”
He added that since “the worst of the [Covid-19] crisis seems to be over in Europe”, there will be a lot more attention focused on the impact of Brexit on Ireland.
“The focus will be on recovery, it will be on cohesion and not just helping Ireland out as the UK moves off the stage, but also reaching out to southern and eastern Europe as well.”
So far, negotiations between the UK and Europe have been unsuccessful. Should no deal emerge from current Brexit talks, there could be significant disruptions to trade and travel.