The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator has said there has been no real progress made at the end of the fourth round of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal.
Michel Barnier told a Brussels press conference: "My responsibility is to speak to truth and to tell the truth this week there have been no significant areas of progress.
"On fisheries the UK have not shown any true will to explore other approaches beyond zonal attachment for the sharing of quotas.
"They continue to condition access to waters to an annual negotiation which is not possible for us - not even technically possible."
The sticking points in the talks; fisheries, level playing field, police and justice matters and governance of the agreement, are pretty much where they were at the start of March.
Northern Ireland business groups seek delay to protocol
The Irish Exporters Association is calling on businesses to prepare for the strong likelihood that there will be no comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and the UK from January 1 next year.
Chief Executive Simon McKeever said, "We believe that there will be no agreement reached on a free trade agreement between the EU and the UK and therefore businesses need to make preparations for a worst-case scenario. Considering the magnitude of a recession that the country is facing, businesses need to make haste and prepare for the next shock to the economy, which is the UK's full withdrawal from the EU.
"This is now potentially just months away."
Businesses are already tackling the challenges of Covid-19, however, Mr McKeever is urge them to go back to their Brexit preparedness planning and ensure that they are still on track to deal with the potential fallout.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
