Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will warn Cabinet today that “major hurdles” still exist between the EU and Britain, amid fears in Brussels that the Brexit crisis may force officials to call an emergency EU summit next week. The increasingly likely prospect of the Brexit drama failing to be resolved by this Thursday’s EU summit was raised as Tánaiste Simon Coveney told the Irish Examiner in an exclusive interview that “big gaps” remain between the two sides. And while all sides publicly said they still believe a deal can be struck on the eve of the EU summit, several sources indicated an emergency summit next week is now on the cards. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Coveney admitted there are still major disagreements between Britain and the EU over the future of the North which could potentially derail a last-minute Brexit deal. “Citizenship and identity provisions are critical to the Good Friday Agreement,” said Mr Coveney.

Source: Irish Examiner October 15, 2019 04:52 UTC