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The mood is beginning to shift among EU leaders to secure the compromises necessary to reach a deal and prepare for a no-deal outcome, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney warned Monday night after another day of unfinished talks on Brexit.
Mr Coveney also spoke about “great frustration on the part of the EU, not just within the EU negotiating team. . . but also in the member states ”and said that many EU foreign ministers were resigning themselves to a no-deal.
He spoke after a day of meetings at the EU foreign affairs council in Brussels, as negotiations between EU negotiators and British representatives continued. Coveney also spoke with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, in Brussels.
Coveney said the negotiations needed “political intervention from the top” to break out of the stalemate, but if no agreement is reached before EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday for the December summit, it is likely. that EU leaders pay attention to preparing for a no-deal on January 1.
Later on Monday night, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that they would meet in Brussels in the next few days. Earlier Monday, Barnier said Wednesday had to be the last deadline for reaching an agreement in the talks, although all previous deadlines have been missed.
In Dublin, government sources were pessimistic about the lack of progress in recent days, but said the meeting between Mr Johnson and Mrs Von der Leyen was a sign that the traffic jam could be broken. Officials also said that the British government’s withdrawal from clauses in the internal market bill, which threatened to unilaterally sideline previous agreements with the EU on Northern Ireland, was a good sign.
‘Incredibly depressing’
However, some senior officials in Dublin, who until now were waiting for the British government to reach a deal, are no longer convinced. One described the mood in Brussels as “incredibly depressing”.
Coveney is due to update Cabinet Tuesday morning on the position with the talks and on Brexit preparations, whether a deal is reached or not.
It is understood that ministers will be assured that the supply of Covid vaccines will not be affected by a no-deal Brexit, as preparations have been made to transport the vaccines directly to Ireland from the EU bypassing the UK. There are fears of significant delays in the transport of goods across the UK land bridge.
Meanwhile, the Oireachtas agriculture committee will hear Tuesday that there may not be time for the agri-food sector to adjust to a deal, even if one is reached.
At Tuesday’s Brexit hearings, Dairy Industry Ireland warned “there is not enough time now. . . to adapt to the results of a possible agreement, if it is reached. “
Director Conor Mulvihall will say that the transition period “has [left] our businesses with no waiting time to implement significant changes and continued uncertainty rather than promised clarity. “Adapting to a” radically new business and economic relationship “in such a short period of time is” neither possible nor realistic.
Meat Industry Ireland will say that “the failure of political negotiations has left our sector. . . in the unenviable position of not being able to plan what is, at this late stage, an uncertain future. “
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