The new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Ireland next week.

The commission has said she will visit Dublin on Wednesday to meet with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The two will hold a joint press statement, before Mr Varadkar hosts a dinner for Ms von der Leyen.

She accepted the invitation which was extended by the Irish Government.

Ms von der Leyen has expressed an interest to visit as many countries as possible, and also wants her commissioners - including Ireland's Phil Hogan - to get to as many as possible in the first half of their tenure.

The former German defence minister was named EU Commission president - replacing Jean-Claude Juncker - in July.

Ms von der Leyen recently visited London, where she warned that not every aspect of the EU and UK's future relationship will be able to be agreed on time if the Brexit transition period is not extended beyond 2020.

She said the UK's final day in the EU will be a "tough and emotional" one, but stressed: "When the sun rises again on February 1st, the European Union and United Kingdom will still be the best of friends and partners.

"We will still have a lot to learn from each other... We will still face the same challenges, from climate change to security."

Ms von der Leyen also pledged to create a "truly ambitious and comprehensive new partnership" with the UK.

However she warned: "The truth is that our partnership cannot and will not be the same as before.

"It cannot and will not be as close as before, because with every choice comes a consequence... with every decision comes a trade-off."

The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was passed in the British House of Commons on Thursday by a significant majority.