An agreement on an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the EU is still possible this week, according to Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, who was speaking at the Foreign Ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 14 October. "An agreement is possible and it is possible this month. It may even be possible this week, but we are not there yet,” he said at the beginning of the meeting.
Throughout the weekend, negotiators on both sides have been working on new possibilities for compromise on the Northern Irish border issue, following exchanges between Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar (see EUROPE 12374/3). On Sunday 13 October, the European Commission reported that the talks had been “constructive”, but that "much remained to be done" between now and the Summit. Discussions will continue until “Wednesday”, the European Commission added.
"On Brexit, the less we say now, the better”, added Mr Coveney. "I think what we're trying to do is pretty clear, but there are now quite detailed technical discussions to be had and I think we need to allocate the time and space for that”.
Discussions, according to several British media reports, focus on the feasibility of keeping Northern Ireland in the British Customs Territory, while also continuing to apply European customs rules and tariffs. The European Affairs Ministers will take stock of Article 50 progression this Tuesday in Luxembourg. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)