UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will talk on Monday afternoon with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters.
(Bloomberg) — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will talk on Monday afternoon with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters.
The video conference call will be held at about 3:30 p.m. UK time, Blain said.
The call comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity as Sunak seeks to seal a new deal to govern Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. Blain said “intensive work” will be carried out in coming days at both ministerial and official level to secure an agreement.
“We haven’t set a specific deadline for talks to conclude,” Blain said.
Blain also said the government remains in “close contact” with the Democratic Unionist Party and other political groupings in Northern Ireland. He declined to comment on whether the UK could re-start the passage of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, legislation to give British lawmakers the power to unilaterally override parts of the Brexit deal. The bill is currently paused in the House of Lords.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.