Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned that phase two of the Brexit talks will be “very, very demanding”.

Further integration between EU states is required to deal with the economic crisis in Europe, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament in Strasbourg today.

The EU and the maker of Marlboro cigarettes were today close to a $1bn (€833m) deal to end years of legal wrangling by cracking down together on smuggling and fakes that are costing both sides enormous sums.