Ireland: The Prime Minister of Ireland Mr. Leo Varadkar has stated that the United Kingdom and the European Union are inching towards concluding talks on revising post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.

Momentum has been building for weeks for a deal to ease checks on trade that were introduced under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangements agreed to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland when the United Kingdom exited the EU in 2020.

“I think the talks on reforming the protocol are inching towards a conclusion. Certainly, the deal isn’t done yet, but I do think we are inching towards a conclusion,” Mr. Leo Varadkar stated.

“There is the possibility of agreement in the next few days, but by no means is it guaranteed. There is still a gap to be closed,” Mr. Varadkar remarked, adding that there is continuing engagement between the UK government and European Commission.

Mr. Varadkar, who played a key role when the protocol was agreed upon in 2019, encouraged London, Brussels, and Northern Irish politicians “to go the extra mile” to help reach an agreement, stating the benefits would be “huge.”

While an agreement would mark an end to a two-year standoff between the UK and the EU, British Prime Minister Mr. Rishi Sunak could face a battle with pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers and pro-British Northern Irish politicians to make the deal work.

Opinion polls have consistently shown that a majority of Northern Irish voters, who opposed Brexit, favour the idea of the protocol. However, the province’s assembly and power-sharing government have not met for a year due to unionist opposition.

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