Britain and the EU are both hoping for a deal to end the Brexit row over Northern Ireland as Liz Truss’ allies say Brussels is ‘waking up’ to the threat of meltdown with the Stormont election deadline this month
Hopes are rising for a deal to end the Brexit row over Northern Ireland
Britain’s trusting EU has now been convinced of how serious the crisis can be
There will be an election in Northern Ireland if devolution is not restored by October 28
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Hopes are rising for a deal to end the Brexit dispute over Northern Ireland with Britain and the EU poised to resume talks.
The government is confident that Brussels has now been convinced of how serious the crisis in Northern Ireland could become without a breakthrough this month.
One source said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was starting to ‘get the hang of it’.
Liz Truss has pushed through legislation in Westminster to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
But the Prime Minister has also recently reiterated her preference for a negotiated solution to the dispute over post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic are expected to meet within the next fortnight for protocol negotiations.
The focus on striking a deal has been heightened with a looming deadline at the end of this month.
New elections are due in Northern Ireland unless a new power-sharing government can be formed in Stormont by October 28.
Allies of the Prime Minister are convinced that Brussels has now been convinced of how serious the crisis in Northern Ireland could become without a breakthrough this month
A senior British government source told MailOnline that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, now “understood” the gravity of the crisis.
New elections are due in Northern Ireland unless a new power-sharing government can be formed in Stormont by October 28
The DUP is currently blocking the functioning of Stormont institutions as part of their protest against the protocol, which they believe threatens their position in the UK due to trade barriers across the Irish Sea.
Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris warned last month that the prospect of an election before Christmas was not an “idle threat”.
A senior British government source told MailOnline that Mrs von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, now ‘understood’ the gravity of the crisis in Northern Ireland.
“We and (Irish Prime Minister) Micheal Martin have engaged with the EU on the need for rapid progress,” they said.
‘The deadline is October 28, we have to call elections after that. And that creates a huge risk as no one knows if Sinn Fein would boycott them.
“Even if the DUP manage to get more support, would Sinn Fein be willing to take the Deputy First Minister position after the Unionists refused?
‘Ursula von der Leyen didn’t seem to understand how serious this could be, but there are signs that she is getting it now.
‘There is a landing zone, but we need to find it quickly.’
Designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, the protocol allows Northern Ireland to effectively remain in the EU’s single market.
Both the British government and unionists in Northern Ireland have attacked the “bureaucratic” controls imposed on goods moving across the Irish Sea.
Sir. Cleverly and Mr Sefcovic had a “good conversation” over the phone last week, agreeing to meet for protocol talks soon.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic are expected to meet in the next fortnight for protocol negotiations
The times reported new talks could see the UK government give ground to its insistence that the European Court of Justice play no role in running the protocol
The EU is also said to be ready to waive controls on goods moving between the UK and Northern Ireland.
An EU source told the paper: ‘It’s not in either side’s interest to have this hanging over us when we have bigger issues to contend with where we have to co-operate.
“Until we get into the details… we can’t be sure we can make it work, but there is a new will.”
Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney was due to meet Mr Cleverly for dinner in London tonight, while he and Mr Heaton-Harris will chair a UK-Irish government conference tomorrow.
Ahead of his trip to London, Coveney said the ‘mood music’ over the protocol row had ‘changed quite fundamentally’.
“We will not only work on relations to rebuild trust, but also work on solutions in a practical way, and I think that process starts in earnest this week,” he added.