No Brexit progress without border solution

All leaders of the EU 27 are in agreement that Brexit talks will not proceed to phase two unless Britain offers further assurances on the border, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.

Mr Coveney added that Ireland will not need to use its veto to stop talks moving to the issue of trading relations because EU negotiators will themselves block the move if Britain does not offer up a workable solution ahead of December’s crunch summit in Brussels.

He said he received assurances from EU leaders Michel Barnier, Donald Tusk, and Jean Claude Juncker on Friday that the EU would hold firm on this demand.