Poland 'not breaking away from EU solidarity' on Brexit: FM

Jacek Czaputowicz told a news briefing in Brussels on Tuesday that the Polish idea of a time-limited backstop for the Irish border after Brexit was a response to a call by EU authorities, including European Council head Donald Tusk, for "bold proposals on how to overcome the Brexit impasse."

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney on Monday dismissed Czaputowicz's suggestion that the Brexit deadlock could be resolved if Ireland were prepared to accept a time-limited backstop of five years.

Czaputowicz told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday, as quoted by Poland's PAP news agency: "We are facing the risk of a no-deal Brexit, which would be bad for the European Union, for Ireland above all ..., but also for Poland and for the United Kingdom."

He said his idea could become "the basis for a new discussion on the subject.”

He added that his proposal could be supplemented to include a "decisive declaration by the European Union that it would not leave Ireland alone, that we stand in solidarity with Ireland, but are giving ourselves those five years to resolve the problem."

Czaputowicz added: "Poland does not want to break away from European solidarity. We believe that the European Union, the [chief] negotiator, Michel Barnier, is in charge of this … This is just one of the ideas to consider.”

Ireland’s Coveney said on Monday that the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the European Union was not up for renegotiation and that the Polish proposal did not reflect the EU position.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Monday, Czaputowicz argued that a five-year backstop limit would be more favourable than a no-deal Brexit, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Until then, EU27 leaders insisted that the backstop must apply indefinitely as part of Britain’s divorce from the bloc if no other arrangement is worked out to prevent a "hard border" between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, when asked about Czaputowicz’s idea in the House of Commons in London on Monday, said: “I look forward to exploring in more detail the proposals that have been put forward by the Polish foreign minister on this particular issue of dealing with the backstop.”

She added: “We’ve always worked well with the Polish government on these and other matters across the European Union Council and want to continue to have that very close relationship with Poland after we leave the European Union.”

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP