Leaders look to future with UKs EU adventure to end before day is out

The UK's 47-year membership of the EU will be over before the day is out.

The eleven-month transition period will begin when the UK officially leaves the bloc at 11 pm this evening.

The UK will continue to follow EU rules throughout that time, with the first round of negotiations on a new trade deal due to get underway on March 3rd.

Exploratory talks are expected to begin as early as Monday and, this afternoon, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he is confident the EU will get a good deal.

“I am adamant that our future partnership with the UK must go beyond trade,” he said.

“It needs to cover a broad range of issues, including fisheries for example, security, our universities, cooperation on research and economics generally.

“I am confident that we can get a good deal. The EU on one hand and Britain on the other broadly agree that we want there to be no quotas, no tariffs, no taxes and the minimum amount of bureaucracy and checks possible.”

He noted that the UK will always be welcome to return to the EU.

“We will say goodbye to an old friend, embarking on an adventure – their own tryst with destiny,” he said.

“We do hope it works out for them but if it doesn’t there will always be a seat for the UK at the European table.”

It comes just eight days before the Irish people take to the polls for General Election 2020.

This afternoon, the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accused Mr Varadkar of timing the vote so Brexit would be front and centre while the public was considering who to back.

“It is very clear now that this was all choreographed and he thought he would get re-elected on the wave of Brexit day and Brexit leaving,” he said.

“They have been desperate since the beginning of the campaign to put Brexit centre-stage of the campaign and it hasn’t worked. They are giving it one last effort today and tomorrow about Brexit again.

“The fact is, the health crisis, the housing issue, is very dominant in people’s minds.”

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, the Tánaiste Simon Coveney said Ireland was losing a “very powerful friend” and noted that Brexit is a lose-lose for all involved.

"I think Britain will lose; I think their standing in the world has been damaged and will be diminished without the solidarity that comes with EU membership,” he said.

“I think the EU will be weakened too - because Britain is a great country, it's a powerful country, it's a strong economy and it added a lot to the European Union.”

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brexit had shown the strength of the unity between the remaining 27 states.

She said the UKs new relationship with the EU would not be as good as membership but noted that the two sides would work as closely together as possible.