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U.K. and Ireland See ‘Pathway to Possible Deal’: Brexit Update
2019-10-10 14:14:42.438 GMT

By Patrick Donahue and Tim Ross
(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson met his Irish counterpart Leo
Varadkar for crucial talks over lunch as the U.K. and European
Union seek a way through the Brexit impasse with time running
out to reach a deal. The two leaders said they could “see a
pathway to a possible deal,” in a joint statement after the
talks.

Key Developments:

* Johnson and Varadkar meet over lunch in northwestern England
* British security minister warns EU citizens about status in
U.K.
* Irish health minister says deal “not impossible”
* Top medical officer says no-deal Brexit could cause deaths

Merkel Pledges to Minimize Harm of Brexit (1:30 p.m.)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a trade union
event in Nuremberg, demanded that pensions and social insurance
continue to be paid after Brexit — and said visa-free travel
should be maintained.
“We want to minimize the negative effects in both
countries, even if there is a disorderly exit,” Merkel told a
meeting of the IG Metall union. “Travel to the U.K. should
remain possible without a visa, just as it is for Britons into
the EU.”
“Those with social insurance should not lose their
insurance in the event of an exit, or be involuntarily subject
to double insurance,” she said. “Pensions also must be paid to
the fullest extent, if the recipient is a resident of the U.K.”

Varadkar Promises ‘Detailed Discussion (1 p.m.)

Leo Varadkar tweeted after the start of the meeting in
northwest England, saying he and Boris Johnson would have
“detailed discussion to see if we can make any progress.”

Johnson and Varadkar Arrive for Crunch Meeting (12:15 p.m.)

Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar arrived at the country house
in North West England where they’re due to have lunch and hold
their talks.
Thornton House was built in the 19th Century and now serves
as a venue for weddings and corporate events. Johnson arrived
about 20 minutes before Varadkar.

Minister: Stop Negotiating By Twitter (12 p.m.)

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said the U.K. government
will focus until “the 11th hour on Oct. 31” on getting a deal.
“It requires cool heads and real effort, real discipline, real
focus,” he said in a Bloomberg interview.
“I’d like to see less of this emotional negotiation by
Twitter,” he said. “That I think is unwise.”
His comments came after European Council President Donald
Tusk, accused Johnson of playing a “stupid blame game” in a
Twitter post earlier this week.

Deal ‘Not Impossible,’ Irish Minister Says (8.45 a.m.)

Leo Varadkar and Boris Johnson will “check in” on where
Brexit talks stand, Ireland’s Health Minister Simon Harris said,
adding that getting a deal is “extremely difficult but not
impossible.”
Asked in an RTE radio interview if his government trusts
Johnson, Harris responded that he is the elected prime minister
and “we trust the U.K. political system in that regard.”
Earlier, U.K. Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said there’s
still a “good chance” of a deal. The meeting between the two
prime ministers “is not to have a social conversation,” he told
BBC Radio. “They’re seriously focused on trying to resolve this
issue and trying to get a deal.”

Hammond: Election Won’t Solve Impasse (8 a.m.)

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who was
expelled from the Parliamentary Conservative Party for opposing
Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy, warned that an election will
not solve the impasse over leaving the EU.
“I don’t think an election solves our problem, I would not
support an election at the moment,” Hammond told BBC Radio. “A
few weeks ago we were being asked to give assurances that we
wouldn’t vote against the Government in a vote of no confidence
and now we’re being asked to vote to turn the Government out.”
He said both the economy and the reputation of the
Conservative Party for fiscal prudence are being put at risk by
spending commitments announced by his successor Sajid Javid.
“I do worry about a strategy which is reckless about our
economic future in terms of advocating no-deal Brexit and
reckless about our public finances in terms of spending money
that, frankly, at this point in the Brexit negotiation, we
cannot be sure we have available,” Hammond said.

Medical Officer Warns of No-Deal Deaths (7:30 a.m.)

Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, repeated
her warning that there may be deaths caused by shortages of
drugs and medical equipment if there’s a no-deal Brexit.
“The health service and everyone has worked very hard to
prepare,” she told BBC Radio. “But I say what I’ve said before,
that we cannot guarantee that there will not be shortages, not
only in medicines but technology and gadgets and things,” she
said. “And there may be deaths, we can’t guarantee there won’t.”
The lives of patients “are at risk.”

Lewis Warns EU Citizens Over Registration (Earlier)

Security Minister Brandon Lewis warned EU citizens they
must apply for settled status or risk being expelled from the
U.K., the German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing an
interview.
Only a third of Germans in the U.K. have so far applied to
be registered and Lewis said “theoretically, yes,” when asked if
they could be removed from the country if there’s a no-deal
split from the bloc.

–With assistance from Peter Flanagan, Alex Morales, Robert
Hutton and Thomas Penny.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;
Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net
Caroline Alexander