Varadkar address to EPP congress: "Today one of the biggest challenges we face in Europe is the challenge of Brexit. For the first time a member state is leaving, so we need to make sure we get it right.
"Peace on the island of Ireland was borne out of a European ideal, by people coming together, not growing apart. We cannot allow that to falter now. So we're determined to protect the GFA, which means peace in Britain and Ireland, powersharing in NI, and ever closer cooperation..
"...between North and South. We're determined to avoid the re-emergence of a hard border on our island. We also want an orderly exit for the UK and a transition period so that citizens can prepare for the changes which will take place.
"And we want the furture relationship between the EU and UK to be as close as possible, both in terms of the economy and security, but it must provide a level playing field and the integrity of our single market must be upheld."
