BREAKING: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to meet with King Charles, following her meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Latest here 👉 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in the UK ahead of talks with Rishi Sunak later.
Last week, our deputy political editor Sam Coates exclusively revealed the King was supposed to meet Ms von der Leyen on 25 February. There were concerns it could politicise the King, with the visit possibly interpreted as him giving his blessing to the negotiations or even endorsing the deal altogether. By Adam Parsons, Europe correspondent Ambassadors from the 27 member states haven't even had a full briefing yet.
Few things have more irritated the EU over the past few years than the claim it is less concerned about the Good Friday Agreement than politicians in Westminster. Where once David Frost and Boris Johnson were privately berated as dogmatic, James Cleverly, Chris Heaton-Harris and, previously, Liz Truss have all been seen as more approachable and flexible.
"I think many people will be frustrated that this is the loop we've been stuck in for a very very long time, and it's not something we'd have with a Labour government, because we don't have those divisions in our party on this issue."Today's talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol are an important sign that a deal is within reach.
After hundreds of hours of negotiating, moments at which, insiders concede, it looked as if it might all unravel, a new deal looks set to be agreed today. The practical problems, and perhaps more importantly, the political issues arising from it - in terms of Northern Ireland being treated differently from the rest of the UK - have infuriated unionists and led to the collapse of power-sharing.
There is also expected to be some movement on allowing VAT and state aid rules in Northern Ireland to be set in Westminster, and a scaled back role for the European Court of Justice in settling trade disputes.
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