Irish PM Varadkar: Best way to ensure seamless border is backstop arrangement

While speaking in Stockholm on Thursday, Irish Prime Minister (PM) Leo Varadkar noted that there were two major obstacles to the United Kingdom's Brexit offer. "First is the proposals on customs, the second obstacle is consent and democracy. No one party of any denomination should have a veto," Varadkar said.

Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair continues to push higher in the day and was last seen trading at 1.2375, adding 0.6% on the day. Below are some key quotes, per Reuters.

"The proposals that the UK put forward are welcome but fall short in a number of aspects."

"No one party of any denomination should have a veto."

"We need to explore in more detail the customs proposal."

"Our objective is very clear, we don't want to see any customs posts between north and south, no tariffs."

"Preparations for no-deal are very advanced, next week's budget will be a budget for no-deal."

"We haven't yet agreed with the EU on how to manage border in event of no-deal Brexit."

"Ireland will do what is necessary to protect the single market in the event of no-deal."

"The best way to ensure a seamless border is backstop arrangement and that's what we are trying to achieve."