Britain | Brexit and Northern Ireland

Little sign of compromise over the Northern Ireland protocol

Hopes of an early deal are likely to be dashed

AT LEAST THE mood music has improved. The meeting on January 24th in Brussels between Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice-president, was described as “constructive”, not a word often heard before Ms Truss took over as Brexit negotiator from Lord Frost in December. The two sides have said they would like to settle the long dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol by the end of February, well ahead of elections to the province’s assembly in May. Yet this timetable looks increasingly implausible.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “No surrender”

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