EU, UK make progress on Northern Ireland talks, but difficulties remain, says EU Commission VP

The European Union and the United Kingdom are undergoing talks to resolve a dispute over the post-Brexit trade deal concerning Northern Ireland. EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said that there had been some progress, but there are still difficulties in the negotiations.

Speaking at a news conference following a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels, Sefcovic, who oversees the bloc’s relations with the UK, also referred to the reports of the talks making progress. Sefcovic said his team wanted a breakthrough every week, stressed the importance of re-establishing trust with London, and noted that after closer communications that it was “getting there.”

“Progress is being made, but difficulties remain,” said Sefcovic. “What we are focusing on is gradual, incremental work. We are looking for the possible landing zone for the possible joint solution and this work continues.”

The post-Brexit agreement, also known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, was established to prevent a hard border with EU member Ireland and preserve peace. However, the arrangement meant there would be checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, drawing the ire of pro-British unionists in the region.

The UK has proposed the creation of green customs lanes for goods that are bound only for Northern Ireland and red lanes for products that are bound for Ireland and everywhere else in the EU. The EU Commission said it was open to the idea of creating “express lanes” as long as there are safeguards in place.

Sefcovic also said that the agreement on access to British data on goods that are shipped to Northern Ireland would “dramatically” improve the flow of information required to preserve the single market.

Last week, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said there has yet to be a breakthrough in the ongoing talks to resolve the trade agreement. Varadkar was responding to a question referring to a report by The Times that the UK and the EU reached a customs deal that may help end the post-Brexit dispute over the region.

“I can confirm that, notwithstanding newspaper reports, no deal has yet been done between the EU and the UK,” said Varadkar.