Northern Ireland Protocol deal inches closer after 'productive' talks

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (pictured) and the EU's Maros Sefcovic agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting in the coming days after a phone discussion on Monday.

A deal over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol inched closer on Monday after "productive" talks were held during an "intensive" phase of negotiations.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the EU's Maros Sefcovic agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting in the coming days after a phone discussion on Monday.

Downing Street earlier insisted a "final deal" had not been struck as they seek an agreement that will satisfy the demands of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

However, No 10 would not commit to giving MPs a vote on any potential deal as senior Tory Brexiteers stepped up warnings to Rishi Sunak not to give too much ground to the EU.

Mr Cleverly welcomed Monday's talks with the European Commission vice-president and tweeted: "Intensive work continues and we agreed to talk again in the coming days."

Good to speak again with @MarosSefcovic and @chhcalling about ongoing work on NI Protocol. We are focused on finding a durable solution for NI.

Intensive work continues and we agreed to talk again in the coming days.

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) February 20, 2023

Mr Sefcovic described their video call, which was also joined by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, as a "productive" attempt to find joint solutions.

"Hard work continues. We've agreed to meet later this week," he tweeted.

A productive video call with @JamesCleverly and @chhcalling, taking stock of our work to find joint solutions to everyday concerns in Northern Ireland. Our 🔝 priority is to succeed for the benefit of all communities.

Hard work continues. We've agreed to meet later this week.

— Maroš Šefčovič🇪🇺 (@MarosSefcovic) February 20, 2023

Sources in Brussels said a location for their meeting had not been set, but welcomed it as a positive step in efforts to get a deal. Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he is hopeful of a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol this week, but said it is not a certainty.

While there had been hopes on Friday of a deal as early as tomorrow, continued refusals by the DUP to agree indicate a slowing down in progress. He said that challenging negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol are continuing.

He stressed that the EU is in solution mode to try to solve the issues in the interests of the people of the North. He said the mandate given to political figures by way of the last Assembly election must be allowed to be exercised.

Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, Mr Martin said while some parties may seek further information, there has been huge engagement, which is to be welcomed.

Despite the pessimistic mood, Mr Martin insisted there was no slowing in negotiations, and that very good progress had built up. He said that for the last two years negotiations on the protocol had somewhat stalled, characterising it as "rather slow".

But, he said, "in the last three to four months it has been substantial, serious and progress has been made."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to brief his cabinet early this week on the state of play in negotiations between the UK and EU on the protocol as speculation continues that a deal could be imminent.

He had two lengthy meetings with a DUP delegation led by party leader Jeffrey Donaldson on Friday as he sought to win its backing for a potential deal to resolve the dispute. The Conservative Party leader also met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Munich Security Conference.