The Taoiseach has admitted what he labels "the Brexit divorce" has at times been traumatic.
However Leo Varadkar insists it has not proven fatal to the European family, with support for EU membership and the single currency increasing across the continent.
He was speaking on a visit to Germany.
The Taoiseach says he's still hopeful the withdrawal plan will get approval.
“We can ensure that we have a deal,” he said.
“There is a deal that is on the table; it has been endorsed by 28 governments including the government of the UK.
“It took a long time to negotiate and that is a deal that is not perfect for everyone but, I think, can work for everyone.”
Mr Varadkar travelled to Bavaria in the south of Germany to delivery an address to the CSU political party – which is a sister party to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with mebers of the CSU regional group in Bavaria, Germany, 04-01-2018. Image: Matthias Balk/dpa
During a wide-ranging speech, he noted that the EU was a fundamental pre-condition for the Irish peace process, “sweeping away borders and differences without threatening anyone’s nationality or loyalties.”
“We cannot allow that to falter now,” he said.
“Despite the ever-shifting sands on the trek towards a settled Brexit destination, two things have stayed constant. The first is European support for Irish concerns and safeguarding peace on our island. The second is our understanding of what must be defended.
“We are determined to protect the Good Friday Agreement – peace in Britain and Ireland; power sharing in Northern Ireland, and ever closer co-operation North and South.
“We are determined to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border on our island.
“At the same time, we want the future relationship between the EU and the UK to be as close, comprehensive and ambitious as possible, provided there is a level playing field and the integrity of our single market is upheld.”
He said support for EU membership and the single currency has increased since the “traumatic” experience of Brexit.
“In the midst of all the arguing in the search for an agreement, we have found strength and we have found solidarity from each other,” he said.
“We need to take this with us as we deal with other challenges.”
He warned that “populists of the left and right” are working to divide European societies – and labelled migration one of the greatest challenges facing the continent.
He said a small number of countries are currently “shouldering the responsibility of providing refugees with a fresh start in Europe” and said other member states “can and must do more.”
“This is an EU challenge and one that we need to work together on,” he said.
“We need to act, but we cannot risk losing the middle ground.
“We need to win the argument or we lose everything.
“So, I believe that we need a degree of burden sharing and the resettlement of migrants within the EU, and I support the new framework agreed late last year based on new principles.”
He said it is essential that Europe works together to tackle the root causes of illegal migration – which he styled as “lack of democracy, lack of security and lack of economic opportunity in source countries.”
