Downing Street has said that “intensive” talks on a post-Brexit deal were continuing, as the deadline to leave the EU draws nearer.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Intensive talks are continuing in person in London as they have throughout the week, with the negotiating teams continuing to work hard to resolve the differences that remain.
“Our focus remains, and will continue to be, on trying to secure a free-trade agreement, as it has throughout the negotiations.”
READ MORE: Jacob Reese Mogg claims Scottish devolution would be better 'if Tories' in charge
Moves to reinsert measures allowing ministers to effectively tear up the divorce deal’s agreement on Northern Ireland could risk the deal however according to reports.
MPs will be asked to reinsert the Northern Ireland provisions into the UK Internal Market Bill next week after the Lords voted to remove them.
Asked whether that could derail the talks, the spokesman said: “We have been clear that those clauses represent a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market and to protect the huge gains of the peace process.”
Fishing rights, competition rules and how an agreement should be enforced remain outstanding issues.
READ MORE: No change to Christmas school holidays in Scotland
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has said he believes there is a “good chance” of securing a Brexit deal in the coming days.
Mr Coveney said: “It’s the time to hold our nerve, to trust Michel Barnier, who has done a phenomenal job to date.
“I believe if we do that, there’s a good chance that we can get a deal across the line in the next few days.”
The two outstanding issues remain fishing rights and the level playing field, but Mr Coveney said these issues could not be parked in the hope they can be resolved next year.
Doing so, he said, “means we move into a period of significant disruption and cost, stress and tension and political blame games between London and Brussels. From an Irish perspective, we get caught in the crossfire there,” he told Newstalk.
Mr Coveney said he believes the UK wants a deal but added “they don’t always behave like that”, noting the internal market and finance bills, both of which could breach the Northern Ireland protocol.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel