UK, EU work toward final agreement to end Brexit dispute
(VOVWORLD) -The EU and the UK are preparing to enter an intense phase of negotiations next week aimed at overcoming the dispute over their post-Brexit trade relations well ahead of the anniversary of Northern Ireland’s peace agreement in April.
 UK foreign minister James Cleverly (R) and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic at a meeting in London (Photo: Images Getty/VNA) |
The aim is to move into a negotiating “tunnel” after UK foreign minister James Cleverly and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic take stock of talks next Monday.
Cleverly and Sefcovic announced earlier this week that the EU has agreed to use the UK’s live database tracking goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. This was a first sign of progress in a long-running dispute on post-Brexit trading rules and a step that paves the way for negotiations on other more complex issues, such as checks on agri-food goods, state aid, and VAT.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is a key part of the Brexit deal which allows Northern Ireland to be included in the EU's single goods market to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. After several months of hiatus, the UK and the EU resumed negotiations last October to resolve conflicts related to the Northern Ireland Protocol in the hope of reaching an early consensus.