US President Joe Bidenand the prime minister of irelandLeo Varadkar, boasted this Friday of tuning in around Northern Ireland, which next month will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, and were united in their support for Ukraine.
At the start of their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, the two leaders exchanged compliments, with Varadkar vowing that when Biden travels to Ireland and Northern Ireland next month they will “roll out the red carpet” to make it a visit like no other.
Varadkar took the opportunity to thank Biden for having “supported” the position that his government maintained during the Brexit negotiations in order to avoid imposing a physical border with Northern Ireland.
“I really appreciate your help and your support for understanding our position on Brexit over the years. It really made an impact and I think we are now at a good place with the Windsor framework to have a deal that will last.” “said the Irishman.
The particular situation of Northern Ireland, a territory of the United Kingdom and a border with the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the European Union (EU), became one of the most important stumbling blocks in the Brexit negotiations.
However, the United Kingdom and the EU reached an agreement at the end of February, the Windsor framework, which solves some of the problems in commercial matters and borders that Brexit had caused, due to the strong commercial ties between Ireland and Ireland. from North.
Both the US and the Republic of Ireland see the Windsor framework as an important step towards preserving the Good Friday agreement (1988) because, among other things, it prevents a physical border from being imposed between the two Irelands, one of which essential points that ended the conflict in Northern Ireland.
About, Biden He took the opportunity to reiterate “his great support” for the Windsor framework and expressed his desire to speak with Varadkar about the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian disputes between Catholics and Protestants over whether Northern Ireland it was to join the Irish republic or remain part of the United Kingdom.
The war in Ukraine and green subsidies
During the meeting, the war in Ukraine was also on the table, in which both the US and Ireland have shown unity in sending weapons to Kiev and imposing sanctions on Russia, something that Dublin has done as part of the EU .
“I want to thank the US and you for your leadership in Ukraine. I never thought I would see a war like this in my life,” said Varadkar, who considered that Washington always shows its best face when, together with its European allies , defends “freedom and democracy”.
Another of the issues that marked the meeting was the economy and, specifically, the negotiations between Washington and the Twenty-seven so that European companies are not harmed by the new US measures to grant subsidies to North American companies that favor a transition to clean energy.
Last week, the US and the EU already announced that they will start negotiating a trade pact on minerals to favor European companies that make electric vehicles.
Celebration for the Saint Patrick’s day
At the end of the meeting, Varadkar appeared before the press and described the meeting as “very warm”.
The meeting came on St. Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland and a favorite holiday for Biden, who prides himself on his Irish roots.
Both Varadkar and Biden they carried shamrocks in the pocket of their suit jackets and between them, on a table in the Oval Office, was a glass pot full of shamrocks, the symbol of Ireland. Since 1952 it has been a tradition for Ireland to give those shamrocks to the US as a sign of friendship for the Saint Patrick’s day.
In addition, it is also a tradition that on this festive day the “taoiseach” (prime minister) goes to Washington to meet with the US president at the White House.
However, the ritual has not been fulfilled every year. The first year of the mandate of Biden there was no celebration of Saint Patrick’s day due to the pandemic, and the second, the then Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin made the trip to Washington, but contracted the covid and had to meet with the American virtually.
This tradition is not only important to the Irish leaders, who once a year are received in style in Washington; It is also used by US politicians to get political gain, since some 31.5 million people in the US have Irish roots, that is, almost 10% of the population.
#Biden #meets #Irish #Prime #Minister
