British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced on 10 October, after meeting in Wirral, northwest England, that there was "a possible pathway to a deal".
Later, the Irish Taoiseach indicated that this agreement on an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the EU could even be reached by the end of October.
The two men's discussions focused on customs and the aspect of consent on the new protocol for Ireland presented by London on 2 October, according to a British government statement. Johnson and Varadkar also discussed the "potential to strengthen bilateral relations", particularly on Northern Ireland, the statement said.
The two Prime Ministers did not provide any details, but claimed that their discussions could boost the momentum of the negotiations. They will report, respectively, to Michel Barnier's team and Stephen Barclay, the British Minister in charge of Brexit.
"The less is said, the better", said Leo Varadkar, quoted by the BBC, even referring to a "very positive and very promising" discussion with his British counterpart. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)