German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union was willing to quickly find a solution to Irish border issue with the United Kingdom during a press conference in the Icelandic island of Vidbey at a meeting of Nordic leaders on Tuesday.
“That moment, when we have a practical solution on how to uphold the Good Friday agreement and nevertheless be able to define the border of the internal market, we won’t need the backstop any longer,” she said. “This means we will think about practical solutions and I always say if you want to find these solutions in the near future, you can find them quickly. The European Union is willing to do that.”
Merkel was invited to take part as the guest of honour at the yearly meeting of Nordic leaders in Iceland, between the Prime Ministers of Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
They discussed European politics and other issues including the situation in Ukraine, about which Finnish PM Antii Rinne said, “What has happened in Ukraine because of Russian is not right and they need to follow the Minsk agreement.”