German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday reassured Ireland that it can rely on Germany in Brexit talks as the European Union and Britain struggle to find a way to maintain an open Irish border after the U.K. leaves. "A solution must be found for this ... and Germany fully supports the Irish position," Merkel said. Britain is due to leave the 28-nation EU in a little over a year, and how to keep open the all-but-invisible border between EU member state Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., is proving one of the biggest headaches. In Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk was upbeat about over all progress on Brexit before chairing a two-day summit starting Thursday. He said that May has accepted the idea of "full regulatory alignment between Ireland and Northern Ireland if there is no other possibility to avoid a hard border.

Source: ABC News March 20, 2018 17:37 UTC