The German government will stand up to pressure from its own car manufacturers to compromise on the backstop, the German justice minister has said. Ms Barley said the backstop was not open for renegotiation and that there was “rock-solid” backing for the withdrawal agreement within the German government. German justice minister Katarina Barley (left): ‘You can be absolutely sure that the German government backs the backstop idea and the [withdrawl] agreement. Mr Howlin said it was very important to have such a senior German minister visit the Border region and meet with Border communities. Ms Hanna praised the German minister for “coming and seeing first hand” the complexity of the border issue.

Source: The Irish Times February 01, 2019 21:45 UTC