Ministers could shelve proposed legislation that would allow the UK to unilaterally rip up some Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, as a sign of goodwill in negotiations with the EU, the Guardian has been told.
EU and UK negotiators are hopeful they may be able to enter the “tunnel” phase of negotiations next week. That phase, which involves intense negotiations with no public comment, is likely to be scheduled after a meeting between the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič on Monday.
A senior EU source said there was an understanding the bill would not progress while the negotiations were at a crucial stage, though a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) source denied the law was being paused.
In a sign of some movement, the UK government said on Friday it would further delay calling an election in Northern Ireland in order to to give Brexit talks a chance. But senior EU sources said only “slow progress” was being made, with both sides warning there were still significant differences.
Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said on Friday: “It remains the case that there are outstanding issues that need to be agreed but it remains our ambition to try to reach an agreement as soon as we can.”
Both sides hailed an agreement last week over data sharing and EU access to British IT systems as a key step in resolving the row over the protocol. But there remain significant outstanding issues, particularly a UK demand that the European court of justice should have no role in disputes.
However, there is pressure on both sides for a deal to be reached by April, in time for the 25th anniversary commemorations of the Good Friday agreement, which the US president, Joe Biden, hopes to attend. Washington has made clear attendance is conditional on a settlement being reached.