The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Maroš Šefčovič has told member states that there was no deal yet on the Northern Ireland Protocol, but that things could move "quickly" in the coming days.
Mr Šefčovič briefed 27 EU ambassadors in Brussels this afternoon following his lunch with the British foreign secretary James Cleverly.
An EU diplomat briefed on the meeting said: "The notion was very clear: there is no deal yet.
"But, we are working on remaining elements and details still, but we are closing in on something that could be a deal."
The European Commission vice president is understood to have said that the deal will be within the existing protocol.
However, a number of sources have suggested that both the EU and UK may need to introduce new legislation to accommodate changes. The EU has already changed its own rules to facilitate the movement of British medicines to Northern Ireland.
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator @MarosSefcovic has told member states that there was no deal yet on the Northern Ireland Protocol, but that things could move "quickly" in the coming days.
— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) February 17, 2023
Mr Šefčovič is also understood to have conveyed to member states that the EU’s position on the European Court of Justice (ECJ), that it remain the final arbiter of EU Single Market law in the event of a dispute, would be protected in any deal.
He also told EU ambassadors that both sides were looking at ways that voices from Northern Ireland could be "heard better" within the implementation of the protocol, according to the diplomat.
"[The briefing was] mostly meant to make sure that everybody is aware of where we stand and knows that things potentially could move quite quickly in the coming days, weeks, months. Nobody knows exactly, there's no timeline given for these things," said the diplomat.
It comes as Taosieach Leo Varadkar said he believes the prospect of agreement on the protocol is there, possibly within a week.
