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British and EU officials will continue Brexit talks over the weekend amid rising speculation a deal is on the cards which could break the deadlock over the border.<\/p>\nBritish and EU officials will continue Brexit talks over the weekend amid rising speculation a deal is on the cards which could break the deadlock over the border.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s chief negotiator Michel Barnier gave the green light on Friday for intensive discussions between officials to start.<\/p>\n
It followed an apparent breakthrough in talks on Thursday between Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at a country house retreat on the Wirral.<\/p>\n
Their discussions appeared to unblock the negotiations which had seemed to have been running into the ground following the publication of Boris Johnson\u2019s Brexit blueprint.<\/p>\n
The British Prime Minister cautioned it was not a \u201cdone deal\u201d and there was still \u201ca way to go\u201d if they were to get an agreement which would enable Britain to leave on October 31, as he has promised.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson will challenge MPs to back any deal he has secured from Brussels when parliament sits on a weekend next Saturday for the first time in almost four decades, The Times has reported.<\/p>\n
He is preparing to hold a vote on his deal on the \u201cSuper Saturday\u201d parliament sitting as he seeks MPs to either endorse his approach or force through a Brexit delay, the paper says.<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier is due to brief EU ambassadors and MEPs on Monday on progress \u2013 but time is rapidly running out if they are to get an agreement in place in time for EU leaders to sign off on it at next week\u2019s Brussels summit.<\/p>\n
With UK officials remaining tight-lipped, there has been intense speculation over what was said at the talks at Thornton Manor which enabled the process to move forward.<\/p>\n
The discussions focused heavily on the issues of the customs arrangements and the proposed \u201cconsent\u201d mechanism for the Northern Ireland Assembly.<\/p>\n
The EU strongly objected to a proposal in Mr Johnson\u2019s Brexit blueprint for Northern Ireland to leave the customs union together with the rest of the UK \u2013 meaning the return of customs controls on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
Brussels is also concerned that a proposal in the British plan for Northern Ireland to remain tied to EU single market rules for trade in goods could be vetoed before it had even got off the ground by the Democratic Unionist Party.<\/p>\n
There has been speculation that Mr Johnson could now try to revive a compromise proposal first put forward by Theresa May that would see Northern Ireland remain politically in a customs union with the EU, but that it would be administered by the UK.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a school visit on Friday, Mr Johnson was adamant he would not accept any arrangement which damaged the ability of \u201cthe whole of the United Kingdom\u201d to take full advantage of Brexit, including any new trade deals struck with countries around the world.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the DUP, whose support is likely to be crucial if Mr Johnson is to get a deal through Parliament, warned they would only back measures that were in the \u201clong-term economic and constitutional interests \u201c of Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
DUP leader Arlene Foster said: \u201cIn order to secure a sensible deal for everyone it is important that the European Union understand that to maximize the prospects of agreement there will need to be a clear acceptance that the economic and constitutional integrity of the whole of the United Kingdom will have to be respected as we leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a consequence of the mandate given to us by voters in 2017 (general election) the DUP is very relevant in the parliamentary arithmetic and regardless of the ups and downs of the Brexit discussions that has not changed.\u201d<\/p>\n