Brexit: No breakthrough in protocol as UK and EU agree on 'scope' of solutions

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There was no breakthrough in the post-Brexit row over the Northern Ireland Protocol following talks between Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and his European Commission counterpart Maros Sefcovic.

The two sides' dispute hopefuls could issue a political statement on Monday, the UK and EU only agreed to continue "framing work" to resolve the dispute as gaps in their positions remained.

Mr Cleverly and Mr Sefcovic said they would continue to seek potential solutions in a "constructive and collaborative spirit" after discussing a series of "existing challenges" during the virtual meeting.

There had been speculation that the two sides were moving towards agreement technical solutions to facilitate the implementation of trade controls on the right movements between the G Britain and Northern Ireland - but the No10 said there were "still gaps" between the two sides.

Officials could not confirm that a another meeting had been scheduled, but I expect one soon, and they did not say whether the talks would enter a more intensive phase.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin welcomed of "continued positive engagement", saying the two sides were working "constructively to find common solutions".< /p>

But DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson also said he believed that Brussels and London were nowhere near a deal, describing the difference in views as "significant".

The memorandum was agreed to by Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in 2019 as a way to break the Brexit deadlock to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

He is still violently opposed by many trade unionists calistes in Northern Ireland, and the DUP is blocking the functioning of a devolved government at Stormont in protest at the arrangements.

On Monday, Sir Jeffrey said: "There is still a long way to go. I don't think we are close to an agreement at this stage. Our position remains unchanged.

The announcement last week that an agreement had been reached on the sharing of real-time data on goods traveling from Britain to Northern Ireland was seen as a milestone towards a comprehensive resolution.

But a UK government source played down talk that the two sides were ready to enter the 'tunnel' of final negotiations from this week. Mr Sunak's official spokesperson said that "there are still gaps in our...