Roundup: Irish PM demands "no backsliding" on Irish border in future Brexit talks

STRASBOURG, France, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- There can be no backsliding and it is important to act on proposals made in Brexit negotiations on avoiding a hard border, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told the European Parliament Wednesday.

"The breakthrough achieved before Christmas means that the United Kingdom has guaranteed that, whatever its future relationship with the European Union (EU), a hard border on the island of Ireland will be avoided. The Common Travel Area and its associated rights will be maintained," said Varadkar during a debate on the future of Europe.

"As the negotiations move forward, we will continue to rely on your support and solidarity as we work to ensure that what has been promised in theory is delivered in practice," he said.

"It is important that these commitments be in the legal text of the withdrawal agreement, and firmly embedded in the UK's future relationship with the EU, whatever shape that ultimately takes," he added.

As one of the three critical negotiation points in the first phase of Brexit talks, the future of the Northern Irish border has made the Republic of Ireland an important player in negotiations. Before the December 2017 breakthrough, European leaders affirmed that the country would have the final say on whether talks could proceed to a second phase.

Earlier on Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told MEPs that he still saw Brexit as a "catastrophe", and felt it was a "lose-lose situation" for the EU and Britain.

"If the British wish to find a way other than Brexit, we are ready to talk about it," Juncker said, giving hope to anti-Brexit campaigners.

In addition to appearing to suggest that Brexit was still avoidable, Juncker also suggested that Britain could rejoin the EU later on.

"Once the British have left under Article 50, there is still Article 49 which allows a return to membership, and I would like that," Juncker said.

His comments came a day after European Council President Donald Tusk told MEPs that "our hearts are still open" to the British.

In 1999, the Good Friday Agreements achieved peace in Northern Ireland after decades of unrest, in part by ensuring an open border and freedom of movement between the British-ruled North and the Republic of Ireland.

Maintaining the Agreements was set out by the EU as one of the three priorities for the first phase of Brexit talks.

Britain invoked Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union in March 2017, triggering a two-year negotiation period on its divorce from the bloc. Britain will become a non-EU country on March 29, 2019. Enditem