Hopes grow for Brexit agreement between UK and EU as both sides work towards a solution to vexed question of Northern Ireland, just in time to be submitted to a key European summit
Demonstrators from 'Border Communities Against Brexit' attend an anti-No Deal Brexit protest at the Carrickcarnon border crossing on the road between Dundalk, Ireland on October 16, 2019, and Newry in Northern Ireland.
But officials had to iron out details on how British-ruled Northern Ireland would remain under the European VAT regime.EU negotiator Michel Barnier said simply that there had been "good progress, and work is ongoing" as he briefed a late-night gathering of leading MEPs on the eve of the summit. "We're almost there," one European official said, adding: "Everything is resolved except the application of VAT in Northern Ireland."European officials close to the talks said a deal was unlikely overnight, but that EU ambassadors would meet early Thursday before the 28 EU leaders arrive for their two-day European Council summit.
"The basic foundations of an agreement are ready and in theory ... we could accept this deal with Great Britain and avoid the chaos and the misfortune linked to an uncontrolled, chaotic exit," Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said on Poland's TVN24 news. Johnson has promised to take the UK out of the European Union on October 31, with or without a divorce agreement to maintain orderly economic ties with its former partners.
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