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At an EU summit dinner and in later public remarks, the German chancellor expressed concerns about the bloc’s stand-off with the UK over the Irish “backstop”, a fallback measure intended to ensure no hard border divides Ireland if other solutions fail. This has become the biggest outstanding issue in the talks.
Three diplomats said that at the Wednesday night dinner Ms Merkel indicated that the EU and the Republic of Ireland should rethink their approach on Northern Ireland to avoid a fundamental clash with London.
Ms Merkel also signalled her concerns in a press conference on Thursday, highlighting that if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal a hard border for Northern Ireland could be inevitable.
“If you don’t have an agreement you don’t have a satisfactory answer [to the border issue] either,” she said, noting that on Northern Ireland “we all need an answer”. Brexit timeline — a calendar of uncertainties Theresa May, the British prime minister, noted that Ms Merkel had said that “where there is a will there is normally a way”. [...]
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