Talks before the transition period ends should not be allowed to fail, says Simon Coveney

DUBLIN: The Irish Government says a deal on post-Brexit trade should be finalized within days.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has warned that talks ahead of the last hours of December, when the transition period ends, should not be allowed to fail. He said it would be a “huge political failing” if there was no agreement. “If this is to fail we cannot allow failure to happen with 24 hours to go before a cliff-edge,” he added.

The language used by the leaders in Brussels and London has softened since the decision to extend the talks. Minister said that it was a good sign. Standards have already been agreed on to prevent unfair competition on issues such as workers’ rights, consumer protection and climate change. “The real challenge is how do we deal with future change?” he added.

If the EU does not introduce new rules on issues such as climate change and the UK does not respond in any way, it needs to ensure that British companies do not benefit from the European market. “It really needs to be done over the next coming days,” he said. The Foreign Affairs Minister added that there should be a deal from the Irish point of view.