Ireland: UK-EU deal on Brexit trade spat unlikely this year

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British and Irish governments are expressing optimism that a thorny spat between the U.K. and the European Union over Northern Ireland trade can be resolved. But Ireland’s top diplomat said Thursday that negotiations are likely to drag on into next year. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the talks over post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, the only part of the U.K. that shares a border with an EU member, had not produced a “breakthrough moment.” Speaking after a meeting with U.K. officials in London, Coveney said resolving the dispute by the end of the year is “a very tall order and unlikely to happen.”