“The EU 27 states that are staying at the heart of Europe will assess progress and while there has been some progress, I certainly can’t say at this stage that it is sufficient,” he said. The Irish government has conceded that questions concerning the border with Northern Ireland and Brexit will probably not be resolved until October, by which date the UK's EU withdrawal agreement is set to be finalised. But it said there was a "realistic possibility" of an extension in time for next year's general election. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier recently rejected the idea of a backstop agreement extending to the whole of the UK after the transition period ended in 2020.
The Irish government has conceded that questions concerning the border with Northern Ireland and Brexit will probably not be resolved until October, by which date the UK's EU withdrawal agreement is set to be finalised. But it said there was a "realistic possibility" of an extension in time for next year's general election. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier recently rejected the idea of a backstop agreement extending to the whole of the UK after the transition period ended in 2020.