Brexit

Michel Barnier holds the Official Journal of the European Union C34 during a press conference on Friday in Brussels regarding the fourth round of Brexit negotiations. Photograph: Daina Le Lardic/ Pool/Getty Images Barnier insists pragmatic workarounds are possible for trade in the North

EU’s chief negotiator responded to concerns over Brussels using checks as a bargaining chip in talks

British Brexit negotiator David Frost: “Any such deal must of course accommodate the reality of the UK’s well-established position on the so-called ‘level playing field’, on fisheries, and the other difficult issues.” Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images Brexit: UK says sides need face-to-face talks to make progress
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: “This week, there have been no significant areas of progress.” Photograph: Yves Herman/AFP EU accuses Britain of backtracking as Brexit deadline nears

In practice, almost every grocery item arriving into Northern Ireland from Britain is in the care of a handful of high-street names and is routed through one of just half a dozen warehouses. Newton Emerson: Brussels playing games with Irish sea border
The Bank of England’s governor reportedly held a conference call with Britain’s biggest lenders in which he emphasised that they needed to step up their plans for a no-deal Brexit. Photograph: Getty Bank of England tells banks to get ready for no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson’s arrival in 10 Downing Street saw the DUP abandoned by the European Reform Group within the Conservative Party. Photograph: EPA Alex Kane: Irish Sea ‘border’ looks set to stay
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson is to meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP Brexit: Uncertainty risking North’s prosperity, says report
A Stena Line ferry in Belfast Port. Britain will ‘live up to its international obligations,’ said committee chairman Lord Kinnoull. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Brexit: Britain and EU urged to quickly agree on Northern Ireland protocol
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Irish planning for no-deal Brexit to restart as EU-UK talks go badly
Minister for the cabinet office Michael Gove was giving evidence to the House of Commons committee on the future relationship with the EU, alongside Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost: Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Trade from North to Great Britain will be ‘99.9%’ unfettered, says Gove
US president Donald Trump playing golf at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday, the first time the president played golf since the Covid-19 lockdown. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA Dominic Cummings affair reflects Brexit exceptionalism
Emma DeSouza with her husband, Jake. Photograph: Justin Kernoghan Emma DeSouza: ‘We were just two people who fell in love’

From January 1st smugglers could avail of a 5 per cent profit margin on copper alloy tubes from China if they can order them into Britain and then move them through the North into the Republic. Britain’s post-Brexit trade plan for Irish Sea: some gaping holes
Jeffrey Donaldson: as recently as last November he said Johnson’s deal would 'destabilise Northern Ireland'. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Newton Emerson: The real U-turn on a Brexit sea border has been by the DUP
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney: he welcomed the British paper, but said a lot of technical discussions would be needed to flesh out the details of the plan. Photograph: Getty Images Brexit protocol plan for sea border gets cool reception in Dublin
The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson: “We welcome the clarity that this statement brings...” British paper on the Northern protocol soaked in the rhetoric of sovereignty
First Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the degree of ‘clarity’ provided by Michael Gove in his House of Commons statement. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire DUP leader demands Gove's key Brexit commitments be honoured
The UK has said they will expand some entry points for agrifood goods No customs infrastructure needed in North, says UK Brexit paper
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Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Irish planning for no-deal Brexit to restart as EU-UK talks go badly
Minister for the cabinet office Michael Gove was giving evidence to the House of Commons committee on the future relationship with the EU, alongside Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost: Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Trade from North to Great Britain will be ‘99.9%’ unfettered, says Gove
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney: he welcomed the British paper, but said a lot of technical discussions would be needed to flesh out the details of the plan. Photograph: Getty Images Brexit protocol plan for sea border gets cool reception in Dublin
First Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the degree of ‘clarity’ provided by Michael Gove in his House of Commons statement. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire DUP leader demands Gove's key Brexit commitments be honoured
The UK has said they will expand some entry points for agrifood goods No customs infrastructure needed in North, says UK Brexit paper
The UK government published the tariff levels which will apply from next January if a trade deal is not done with the EU. Photograph: EPA UK confirms high tariffs for Irish food exports if Brexit trade talks fail
Michael Gove: “It remains difficult to reach a mutually beneficial agreement while the EU maintains such an ideological approach,” he told MPs. Video grab: PRU/AFP via Getty Images Brexit: UK deal draft texts offer no guarantees on fair competition
Simon Coveney (C) has said a no-deal Brexit is now a risk. File photograph: Damien Eagers/The Irish Times No-deal Brexit is now a risk, Simon Coveney says
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: “I’m still determined but I’m not optimistic, given the incomprehension on the British side of the conditions of access to our market.” Photograph: Francois Lenoir/EPA Michel Barnier ‘not optimistic’ deal can be reached with UK
The posts would be at Belfast Port (above), Larne and Warrenpoint and would be designed to accommodate additional customs officers and vets, who would be dealing with livestock Brexit: Unionists react with dismay as Irish Sea border ‘now a certainty’
Cabinet office minister Michael Gove has expressed concerns about ‘limited progress’ in the implementation of parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement by EU member states. File photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire London criticises EU’s ‘limited progress’ in implementing parts of Brexit deal
Emma DeSouza and her husband, Jake, said they know a number of families who will benefit from this change. Photograph: Justin Kernoghan/ Photopress Northern Ireland-born British and Irish win EU citizenship rights
If any business was asked to fill in extra paperwork, they should telephone the prime minister ‘and I will direct them to throw that form in the bin’, Boris Johnson told businessmen previously. Photograph: EPA Brexit: There will be physical border posts at North ports, committee told
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier speaks during a news conference in Brussels. Photograph: Reuters EU calls on UK to show ‘willingness’ to make progress in post-Brexit talks
Simon Coveney said ‘the easy thing is just to call for an extension, but we do not get an extension unless the UK side wants to pursue that approach’. Savvy diplomacy needed to achieve Brexit talks extension – Coveney
European Commissioner for Trade, Phil Hogan: ‘I think that the United Kingdom politicians and government have certainly decided that Covid is going to be blamed for all the fallout from Brexit’. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times UK plans to blame Covid-19 for Brexit fallout, says Hogan
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan warned that signs were not good for the prospect of a trade deal with Britain Phil Hogan warns of risks to Irish economy due to slowing international trade
The British government seems to be showing ‘bad faith’ by refusing to agree to the establishment of a European Union office in Belfast after Brexit, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire. British showing ‘bad faith’ by refusing to allow EU open Belfast office after Brexit
Michael Gove wrote to the SDLP, Sinn Féin, Alliance and the Greens saying that an EU office in Belfast was unnecessary. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Britain rejects request for permanent EU office in Belfast
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: the commission told member states that the Northern Ireland protocol was the biggest challenge in implementing the withdrawal agreement. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/Pool via Reuters Brexit: EU tells UK it must set out plans for Northern Ireland customs checks
EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier last week expressed impatience with Britain’s failure to prepare for the protocol’s consequences. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/ Pool via Reuters British, EU officials to discuss post-Brexit arrangements for NI
Michael Gove giving evidence by videolink to MPs during a select committee on the future relationship with the European Union and on post-Brexit negotiations. PA Photo. Photograph: House of Commons/PA Wire Gove rejects EU request for ‘mini-embassy’ in Belfast after Brexit
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels. An EU official said Mr Barnier was concerned about the prospect of not reaching agreement ahead of June extension deadline. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Barnier criticises UK over impasse in ‘surreal’ Brexit talks
US special envoy for Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney: “The president knew that Brexit is going to be a big deal.” Photograph: Al Drago/Bloomberg Coronavirus: Brexit a key issue, says US special envoy
Talks were thrown off course as negotiators have been unable to meet in person since early March. File photograph: Getty Britain rules out extension to clinch post-Brexit deal
Lead negotiators Michel Barnier (above) and David Frost held their first official meeting over video on Wednesday. Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP Photo Britain to try to clinch post-Brexit deal over video conference
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. Photograph: François Lenoir/Reuters Brexit talks resume by video conference after pandemic pause
Britain’s economy on course to shrink by 10 per cent in the first half of the year. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg UK economy stagnated in fourth quarter amid turmoil over Brexit
European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the British prime minister’s Europe adviser David Frost in Brussels on March 2nd. Photograph: Oliver Hoslet/Reuters EU sets out proposals for close UK ties after Brexit talks
A coronavirus warning notice at the European Council, in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Stephanie Lecocq/EPA EU-UK talks on Brexit process postponed due to coronavirus
Michel Barnier, Brexit chief negotiator for the European Union. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg Brexit: Next week’s London talks called off due to coronavirus
Michael Gove arriving at the Cabinet Office in London. The British cabinet minister said an EU-UK joint committee would determine how the Northern Ireland protocol should work. Photograph: Luke Dray/Getty Brexit: Michael Gove declines to confirm Irish Sea checks on goods
Chancellor of the British exchequer Rishi Sunak: As UK gets set for a coronavirus epidemic and stock markets fall, his first budget has more than Brexit to contend with. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe UK’s hardline Brexit stance starts to sour relations with business
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan said the talks on a post-Brexit trade deal were the first time the EU was negotiating with a country that wanted to diverge from the bloc. Photograph: Reuters Phil Hogan concerned at decreasing focus on Brexit in Ireland
Michel Barnier: “An agreement is possible, even if difficult,” he said in Brussels. Photograph: Francois Walschaerts/AFP via Getty Images EU and Britain say deal looks difficult after first round of talks
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan: “We hope that this grandstanding is over and we get down to the real business because we have only nine or 10 months to do the job.” Photograph: Naoise Culhane UK’s pursuit of hard Brexit may be ‘opening skirmishes’ in talks – Hogan
Former EU officials at Trinity College Dublin David O’Sullivan, Romano Prodi, Catherine Day and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: EU contributions a small price to pay for “enormous intangible benefits”. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw State contribution to EU ‘a steal’ for what it gets back, says Varadkar
‘The robust expansion in service activity is being driven by strong growth in new business,’ said AIB chief economist Oliver Mangan. Photograph: iStock Services sector continues rebound after Brexit worries of 2019
David O’Sullivan’s last official posting was as EU ambassador to the US from 2014-2019. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill EU and UK could agree ‘device’ to extend talks, says ex-official
Chief Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier (right) with David Frost at the start of post-Brexit trade talks. Photograph: AP Brexit negotiating teams convene for round one of trade talks
Arlene Foster (above with Michelle O’Neill): ‘Although political differences exist, the Executive are working together to ensure the best possible outcome for people living here.’ Photograph: Kelvin Boyes/Northern Ireland Executive/AFP via Getty Images Foster and O’Neill seek urgent meeting with Gove on post-Brexit trading terms
Fishing could be the biggest obstacle to a deal in the upcoming trade talks. Fishing: Why it is the first flashpoint issue in EU-UK trade talks
Pascal Lamy said the trade talks were more “a process” than a negotiation. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw UK breaching Brexit deal would be ‘big break of trust’ – former WTO head
Darren Bradley, co-owner of Nonna’s Wood Fired Pizzas in Derry, holding one of the bags of flour from Naples used in the restaurant. Photograph: Trevor McBride Award-winning Derry restaurant fears Brexit talks failure will hurt business
Dublin Port: under World Trade Organisation rules and tariffs, meat exports to the UK would be taxed at close to 50 per cent and dairy products at over 30 per cent. Photograph: Stephen Collins/Collins Brexit negotiations kick off in Brussels
British prime minister Boris Johnson: The document rejects the EU’s call for an overarching agreement to cover trade, security, foreign policy and other issues. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images UK says it could abandon Brexit trade talks in June
Boris Johnson agreed to negotiate a level playing field for fair competition in the political declaration that accompanied the withdrawal agreement. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images UK to reject EU’s ‘level-playing field’ demand in negotiating paper
Chris Patten delivered a lecture in Dublin in honour of the late businessman and statesman Peter Sutherland. File photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Chris Patten ‘amazed’ UK sees common rules with EU as ‘impossible’
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said ‘we and the EU signed the withdrawal agreement last month and we have said we’ll comply with our obligations’. Brexit: UK-EU tensions mount ahead of divorce talks
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gives a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg EU issues ultimatum to London ahead of Brexit talks
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who has received a mandate from the member states for the next stage of talks with the UK. Photograph: Patrick Seeger/EPA EU and British positions harden ahead of Brexit talks
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns he is prepared to walk away from the table and impose new costs on UK business, rather than accept a deal that impinged on British sovereignty. Photograph: Toby Melville UK lays down red line for Brexit trade talks
Chris Patten: ‘Stopping more people coming in seasonally to pick potatoes isn’t a very sophisticated way of dealing with labour market problems.’ Photograph: Aidan Crawley/The Irish Times UK’s immigration plan geared ‘to catch headlines’
British prime minister Boris Johnson (left) speaks during his first Cabinet meeting flanked by his new chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak. Photograph: Matt Dunham/PA Pool/Getty Johnson orders Brexit team to ‘get around’ Northern checks protocol
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said his party would ask the UK government to reduce the salary threshold for skilled migrant workers who wanted to come to Northern Ireland. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Grave concern in North over London’s new immigration rules
According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the median salary as of December 2019 was £27,434. Photograph: Getty Images North’s business leaders say immigration plan will make labour shortages worse
UK home secretary Priti Patel. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg UK immigration rules ‘spell disaster’ for care and hospitality sectors
Jeffrey Donaldson: key ask would be “that we get some form of regional variation on the salary threshold to recognise the high dependence of Northern Ireland on the agri-food sector”. File photograph: Pacemaker DUP pleads with UK to reduce salary threshold for migrant workers coming to North
CBI NI director Angela McGowan said firms in the North wanted to see a system that was “both open and controlled, values people’s contribution beyond their salary and works for all parts of the UK”. UK ‘not listening’ to North’s businesses on immigration policies
Section of a frieze of the ancient Elgin Marbles (Parthenon Marbles) from the Acropolis in Athens, which were acquired for the British Government in 1816 by Lord Elgin. Photograph: iStock Greece says Parthenon marbles return not linked to Brexit talks
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: ‘It is a sovereign decision of the EU, it is a sovereign decision of the UK to co-operate . . .’ Photograph: Patrick Seeger/EPA Michel Barnier rejects UK’s call for Canada-style trade deal
British consumers face higher prices and reduced availability of goods if the government fails to agree pragmatic solutions with the European Union, the retail industry’s lobby group warned on Monday. UK shoppers face higher prices without post-Brexit trade deal , warns BRC
French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is pictured at the Munich Security Conferenceon Sunday. Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images. EU and UK will ‘rip each other apart’ in Brexit talks
Newly appointed Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis: “I’ve got tough boots to fill.” Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA New Northern Secretary commits to legacy aspects of deal
Growth in the euro zone ‘turned out better than expected in the third quarter but disappointed at the end of the year’. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Irish economy in good stead as no-deal Brexit fears recede – commission
Former UK prime minister John Major at the European Financial Forum in Dublin on Wednesday. Photograph Nick Bradshaw UK needs ‘miracle’ to secure EU trade deal by end of 2020, says John Major
Giovanni Palmiero was told that he needed the presence of his mother and father when he made his application for the EU settlement scheme at an advice centre in Islington, London. Photograph: iStock Italian man (101) asked by UK Home Office to have parents confirm identity
Tourism NI chief executive John McGrillen says there has been a reduction of more than 20 per cent in the number of people from the Republic visiting major tourist attractions like the Giant’s Causeway and Titanic Belfast. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images Brexit hits tourism numbers in Northern Ireland
The House of Lords EU committee heard that implementing Brexit’s Irish “protocol” was hampered by a “real lack of a very detailed guide as to what all this means”. Photograph: Getty Images No clarity in Brexit deal on how Irish Sea border will work, UK peers told
Simon Fraser says Europe has more experience negotiating trade deals than the UK. Irish reunification now on the table, former Foreign Office head says
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Photograph: Jean-Francois Badias/AP Von der Leyen ‘surprised’ at UK suggestion of Australia-style EU relationship
British prime minister Boris Johnson attends an awards ceremony held at the Banqueting House, London. Photograph: David Parry/PA Wire Northern Ireland-Scotland bridge being considered by British officials
Sterling was around €1.17 on Tuesday, and failed to recover fully from its previous day’s drubbing British pound the worst-performing major currency since the UK left the EU
A fishing trawler in the North Sea, off the coast of North Shields, in England. UK waters are critical fishing grounds for Irish trawlers. Photograph: William Edwards/AFP Irish fishing industry backs EU tying fishing rights to trade deal
Boris Johnson giving a speech at the Old Naval College in Greenwich on Monday. “In one field after another, Britain is far ahead,” he said. Photograph: Frank Augstein/Getty Images Johnson calls for Canada-style EU deal with no binding rules
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier published the European Commission’s Brexit negotiating mandate on Monday. Photograph: Bloomberg Barnier warns UK it will not be ‘business as usual’ after Brexit trade deal
Boris Johnson will tell the European Union he is prepared to accept border checks in a no-deal like scenario. Photograph: Paul Ellis/PA Wire. Johnson to tell EU he will accept border checks in case of no free-trade deal
Pro-Brexit supporters celebrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Friday. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA Brexit: Boris Johnson hails ‘new era’ as UK leaves EU after 47 years
DUP leader Arlene Foster remained steadfastly confident there would be no united Ireland. Photograph: Jonathan Porter/PressEye Arlene Foster welcomes Brexit but expresses concern on North’s status
Protesters from the campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit take part in a demonstration in Carrickarnon on the Irish border ahead of the UK’s departure from EU. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire. Pro-EU protests on Border as Brexit supporters cheer escape from federal ‘prison’
A poster near the Border in Newry, Co Down. Photograph: EPA/Aidan Crawley Sammy Wilson says UK will ‘break free from the EU prison’
Rita Duffy’s photomontage The Raft Project can be seen on the side of the Long Room Hub building at Trinity College Dublin. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw The art work that sums up the ‘complete and absolute apocalyptic confusion’ of Brexit
Even with CAP payments, farm income levels in the North “fell by 26 per cent in real terms” from £386m in 2018 to £290m in 2019, according to the North’s Department of Agriculture. Photograph: iStock Northern farmers ask Johnson for £300m to replace CAP payments
Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin said ‘we are likely to see a minimalist trade deal in goods, which will do serious harm to the Irish economy’. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins. Howlin says Ireland now ‘vulnerable to the capricious politics of Boris Johnson’
Irish film Herself, developed from an idea by its lead actor and co-writer Clare Dunne and supported by Screen Ireland. Screen Ireland hopes for happy ending despite Brexit sadness
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks to the media during a visit to Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Photograph: David Young/PA Wire Brexit should take priority over Irish unity - Corbyn
Britain’s PM Boris Johnson at Downing Street, London. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson to promise to bring Britain together after Brexit
President Michael D Higgins warned that the EU must become ‘a key global actor of influence, and indeed of action’ in wider global crises or ‘it will continue to lose relevance, be perceived as weak’. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times Higgins: New ‘European conversation’ on EU needed after Brexit
Billy Kelleher (pictured) told Tony Connelly his tweet was “a result of sadness over Brexit coming to pass”, Mr Connelly said. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons RTÉ’s Tony Connelly accepts apology from Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher
The bank estimated Britain’s economy would be able to grow at only an average rate of 1.1 per cent over the next three years without sparking damaging inflationary pressure. Photograph: Bloomberg Bank of England says prospects for UK economy lowest since second World War
Britain’s Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage holds a union flag during a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday. Photograph: John Thys/AFP MEPs overwhelmingly endorse Brexit deal giving UK go-ahead to leave EU
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson says he will be mindful of the feelings of those who regret Brexit. Photograph: Jessica Taylor /AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson promises to mark Brexit in ‘respectful way’
Even a free-trade agreement would result in the Irish economy being 3.2-3.9 per cent smaller. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien ‘Considerable disruption’ to trade looms even with post-Brexit accord
Phil Cone of Academy Crests in Cork. One way or another, he says, their product will be 12 per cent dearer after Brexit if there is no zero-tariff trade deal covering clothing. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Brexit threatens UK-Ireland supply chains and business friendships