Barnier ‘very cautious’ about Brexit progress, Coveney says

over 3 years in The Irish Times

Brexit talks are to continue in Brussels on Monday after Michel Barnier briefed a breakfast meeting of ambassadors from the 27 EU member states on the state of play.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said on Monday morning that Mr Barnier was very cautious about the negotiators’ ability to make progress today. Mr Coveney told RTÉ News that really was no progress made yesterday.
Negotiators had been locked in a final heave to find an agreement in Brussels on trade relations between the European Union and UK that would determine the fate of the Irish economy.
Member states summoned Mr Barnier to update them on the progress of the negotiations first thing on Monday morning, in the wake of warnings from some capitals that they could veto a compromise if it were to give Britain a permanent edge over their own domestic economies.
In a move viewed as unhelpful by Brussels and Dublin, Boris Johnson will on Monday ask members of the British parliament to vote for controversial legislative clauses that would allow ministers to renege on the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed with the EU last year.
The House of Lords removed the clauses from the Internal Market Bill but environment secretary George Eustice said MPs should restore them.
The Brexit talks have been described as “very difficult” by those close to the negotiations, as the two teams, led by the EU’s Michel Barnier and the UK’s David Frost, made a last effort to bridge Britain’s desire to diverge from EU standards and the bloc’s determination to protect its market.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Sunday had put the chances of a deal at “50-50” but stressed “an agreement is in everyone’s best interests”.
Asked about contingency planning around a no-deal, Mr Simon Coveney said: “If we don’t get a deal in the next few days, then obviously there are very serious problems around ratification and timelines.”

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