What a day.
The morning began with embers of optimism. But it was quickly smothered.
A tweet from RTÉ’s Europe Editor Tony Connelly reignited the speculation that a deal could be reached, so much so that his tweet actually caused the pound to rise.
But again, this appeared to fizzle with as little as 131 characters from DUP Leader Arlene Foster.
It’s now Wednesday evening and once again, even though time is marching on, there’s a sense of optimism emanating from various parties that a deal can be reached.
All we know for certain is that talks are continuing and that it seems highly unlikely that a deal will be agreed tonight, but negotiations will continue tonight and into Thursday in a bid to breach the impasse before tomorrow’s EU Summit.
It’s thought that negotiations at Downing Street are continuing on Wednesday night with the DUP and Tory Brexiteers.
Reports suggest that two main issues are proving intractable, VAT and the DUP.
It’s understood the issues between the UK, EU and Ireland are nearly sorted but there’s some disagreement about VAT will be treated in Northern Ireland, and it’s unclear at this moment if the DUP will opt in to the plans.
The Guardian are reporting that Tory Eurosceptics are largely on board with Boris Johnson’s promise of leaving the Customs Union with the EU, while also securing a quick free-trade deal with the EU.
However, they do say this is may be reliant on the DUP and that they will not confirm whether they will support the deal until they have read the legal text.
It’s expecting there will be a media briefing early on Thursday morning.
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