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Friday 8 december 2017 WORLD NEWS
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Ireland expects UK to make new Brexit proposal

By DANICA KIRKA land, which is a member of
LORNE COOK the EU, and the U.K. prov-
Associated Press ince of Northern Ireland de-
LONDON (AP) — Ireland railed an earlier proposal.
expects the U.K. to make Existing rules allow people
a new Brexit proposal by and goods to pass freely
Friday as officials in London between the Republic and
struggle to resolve issues Northern Ireland with no
surrounding the Irish border border checks.
that are stalling talks over Ireland wants to preserve
Britain’s departure from the the current arrangement,
European Union. which has eased tensions
British Prime Minister The- along the border.
resa May is under pressure May is struggling to balance
to persuade EU leaders those demands against the
to declare that sufficient concerns of Northern Ire-
progress has been made land’s Democratic Unionist
on divorce issues with the Party, which she relies on to
EU, including the Irish bor- support her government in
der, when they meet next Parliament.
week in Brussels so talks can Varadkar said Wednesday
move on to trade and fu- that avoiding a hard bor-
ture relations between the der remains his “absolute
two sides. Business leaders red line.”
warn further delays will hurt Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly session of “We will not loosen our po-
companies as they plan for Prime Ministers Questions in Parliament in London, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. sition,” he told Ireland’s Par-
the future. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) liament, the Dail.
Ireland’s prime minister, Wednesday that he hopes “tonight or tomorrow.” governing the border be- “We will stay very firm.”q
Leo Varadkar, said late May will submit a new offer Disagreements over rules tween the Republic of Ire-
Germany’s Social Democrats OK talks on a new Merkel govt

By GEIR MOULSON open talks with Chancellor ity government. ty congress’s agreement option off the table” and
Associated Press Angela Merkel’s conserva- Party leader Martin Schulz, to a motion calling for talks wouldn’t automatically
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s tives on whether to renew Merkel’s defeated chal- on “whether and in what lead to a coalition.
center-left Social Demo- their governing coalition or lenger in Germany’s Sept. form” the party could sup- “We don’t have to govern
crats agreed Thursday to at least to support a minor- 24 election, secured a par- port a new government. at any price, but we also
Delegates voted down shouldn’t want not to gov-
a call from party’s youth ern at any price,” he said.
wing to explicitly rule out a “What is important is what
repeat of the “grand coali- we can implement.”
tion” of Germany’s biggest Schulz has promised a bal-
parties in which the Social lot of the party’s entire
Democrats have been ju- membership on any co-
nior partners since 2013. alition deal with Merkel’s
But the road to a new Union bloc. On Thursday,
government is likely to be leaders agreed also to hold
lengthy and bumpy — a a party congress to con-
several-hour debate re- sider whether to move on
vealed little enthusiasm for from exploratory talks — if
a coalition. they are successful — to full
Schulz had insisted after coalition negotiations.
the Social Democrats’ di- If no coalition is agreed
sastrous election result in upon, that would leave
September that the party only a minority government
would go into opposition. or a new election as op-
He said he still wouldn’t tions. Merkel has said she
contemplate joining a new is “very skeptical” about
coalition after Merkel’s leading a minority govern-
talks with two smaller par- ment, which hasn’t yet
ties collapsed last month. been tried in post-World
But President Frank-Walter War II Germany.
Steinmeier made clear he Schulz, however, made
doesn’t want a new elec- clear that some form of
tion, and Schulz reversed support for a minority con-
course. servative government is
Schulz told Thursday’s pre- very much an option for his
viously scheduled congress party.
that the leadership’s plan “I give you this promise: we
for talks, which he hopes to will explore every path,” he
start next week, “takes no told delegates.q