A deal may not be reached until hours before Thursday’s EU summit, Tánaiste Simon Coveney tells Political Correspondent Fiachra Ó CionnaithSo close, and yet potentially so far away. That is the mood at the heart of the EU this morning as a long-promised Brexit deal which suddenly veered into view last Thursday remains in doubt due to the Northern Ireland question. Tánaiste Simon Coveney is acutely aware of the knife-edge the long-awaited Brexit deal is now balancing on. Speaking exclusively to the Irish Examiner on the fringes of the EU General Assembly council in Luxembourg, Mr Coveney said that while there are “big gaps” between both sides, he still believes a Brexit deal can be agreed. But it’s possible to move through that work relatively quickly if there was full buy-in from both sides.

Source: Irish Examiner October 15, 2019 05:03 UTC