Angela Merkel is visiting Dublin for the first time in five years to show solidarity with Ireland and to get a “clearer picture” of Irish preparations for a no-deal Brexit, the German ambassador to Ireland has said. Deike Potzel told The Irish Times that Chancellor Merkel would meet Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to “get a clearer picture” on various Brexit issues, as well as other EU matters. That visit coincided with that year’s congress in Dublin of the European People’s Party, the centre-right European grouping to which Fine Gael and Dr Merkel’s CDU belong. ”She expected this would include all preparations for a no-deal scenario, including with regards to the Border. “We have always said, and the chancellor has always said, that we will try everything to try and prevent a no-deal.”

Source: The Irish Times April 02, 2019 23:48 UTC