Germany: Ireland Backstop Clause Not a ‘Trick’ to Keep UK in the EU, According to Reuters

By Marc Jones

LONDON – Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz stated that the Irish backstop clause within the Brexit transition agreement between Britain and the European Union is not a scheme to keep the UK bound to the bloc.

"Anyone who trusts the agreement should understand that it was not created to prevent Brexit. It was designed to maintain peace," Scholz mentioned during an event at Bloomberg.

He emphasized that "this shouldn’t be seen as a trick to keep them in the European Union indefinitely. That is simply untrue… no one is attempting to deceive anyone here."