'Brexit grandstanding must end'

IFA: Further deadlines pointless, as agreement must be reached

Tim Cullinan, the Irish Farmers' Association president, has said it is time for Brexit negotiators to "put egos aside".

Brexit talks must continue until there is a resolution, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said.

It follows an agreement by the UK and the EU to extend talks to "go the extra mile" in the coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement.

IFA president, Tim Cullinan, said there was no point in setting further deadlines for the talks, which must continue until there is an agreement. 

"The reality is that even if we don't have a deal by January 1, the talks will have to continue until a deal is reached," Mr Cullinan said.

"It would be disastrous for Irish farming if a deal is not done in time for January 1," he said.

"We hear a lot of talk about 'optics' and 'perception' in relation to the negotiations, but all this grandstanding has to stop. It is time to put egos aside. History will judge everyone very harshly if a deal is not done," Mr Cullinan said.

With a succession of deadlines missed, time is now critically short for an agreement. A final Brexit without a trade deal would damage the economies of Europe, send shockwaves through financial markets, snarl borders, and sow chaos through the delicate supply chains.

"The next days will be important," the 27 EU member states were due to say in response to the decision to continue talks, EU diplomatic sources told Reuters.

If there were no time for parliamentary approval by the European Parliament, EU member states could endorse an agreement reached by negotiators to allow for 'provisional application'.

The British government has warned that even with a trade deal, 7,000 trucks heading for Channel ports in southeast England could be held in 100km queues, if companies do not prepare the extra paperwork required.

Road hauliers in the UK have warned that large retailers could cut back on shipping to Ireland because of Brexit delays. 

"We've heard that some major retailers will scale back movements to Ireland," Martin Reid, the Road Haulage Association's director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said. "We've heard of one, in particular, who may not go near it for the first three months of the year."