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The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, travels to Brussels today, Thursday 4 October, for a series of meetings on Brexit including with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

His meeting with President Tusk comes ahead of the October European Council, where leaders will review progress in the Brexit negotiations and discuss next steps.

The Taoiseach will also meet with the Chief EU Negotiator, Michel Barnier, and with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group, Guy Verhofstadt.

Speaking before his departure, the Taoiseach said:

I look forward to these meetings in Brussels, which will give me the opportunity to discuss the status of the Brexit negotiations ahead of the European Council meeting in two weeks' time. The immediate focus of the Irish Government is on the pressing need for agreement on a Withdrawal Agreement, with an operational and legally-binding backstop. The Withdrawal Agreement must ensure that, no matter what the outcome of negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and UK, a hard border on the island of Ireland will be avoided. This is critically important to reinforce the stability brought about by the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement. The negotiations are entering a critical phase, and time is running out. But I believe that an agreement is possible, with the right political will and focus on all sides.