Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there will always be a seat at the European Council table for the UK if their Brexit “adventure” does not work out.

Speaking after a meeting with EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, the Taoiseach said he was “sad” that UK was leaving later this week but said he is “optimistic” that a new relationship could be developed in the coming year.

“On Friday, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union, we’ll say goodbye to an old friend embarking on an adventure,” he said.

“We hope it works out for them. But if it does not, there will always be a seat kept for them at the table,” he added.

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Mr Varadkar said Ireland will be part of “Team 27” during the trade talks which will commence in the coming weeks.

He said he did not see the forthcoming trade talks as a “contest” and added that he would like to see the EU and UK work together to strike a deal that is “mutually beneficial”.

“Time is short and a negotiating mandate will be agreed at the EU Council in March, but we’re up for it,” he said.

Mr Barnier thanked the Taoiseach for the “courage” he showed during the first phase of Brexit negotiations.

“It certainly wouldn’t have been possible to reach this agreement without the hard work, passions and unity of everybody here in Ireland,” he said.

He also thanked Tánaiste Simon Coveney, European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee and all the other politicians in the Dáil and the Seanad who showed solidarity during the first round of talks.

“It’s time for round two and this time it will be very short. We will maintain the unity and we want to find an agreement that works in the interest of the whole EU,” he said.

Mr Barnier said he will work with any government elected by the citizens of Ireland. He said the EU was not read to ask for concessions or offer any ahead of the talks and warned a no deal Brexit is still possible.

“This negotiation is not usual because at the end of this year, because the UK is leaving the single market, it is his choice, and he’s leaving the Customs Union. If we have no agreement it will not be business as usual in the status quo. We have to face the risk of a cliff edge, in particular for trade,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Varadkar said the European Union will have the upper hand in post-Brexit trade talks with the United Kingdom and questioned Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s timetable of striking a deal by the end of the year, the BBC reported.

In an interview with the BBC, The Taoiseach compared the two sides to soccer teams and suggested that the EU would have the “stronger team” due to its larger population and market.

“The European Union is a union of 27 member states. The UK is only one country. And we have a population and a market of 450 million people,” he said. He also said it would be difficult to strike a deal by 2020.

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