Brexit talks continue as Boris Johnson eyes 31 October departure
Brexit talks are set to continue today, with Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay due to meet chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier to see if they can rescue a deal.
Talks between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar sent the pound soaring yesterday as they said they could “see a pathway to a possible deal”.
Read more: Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar see ‘pathway to possible deal’
The politicians sounded an optimistic note on trade talks yesterday after months of deadlock, which saw Downing Street say a deal was “essentially impossible”.
That followed a call between Johnson and German chancellor Angela Merkel, where she said an agreement would prove difficult.
Now Varadkar said he believes a deal is possible by 31 October, the current Brexit departure date. That sent sterling up a massive 1.9 per cent to $1.244 last night.
Today GBP continued its rise, hitting $1.245.
But Johnson will need the approval of all EU leaders for any deal he manages to strike when the member states gather in Brussels on 17 and 18 October.
Otherwise parliament’s Benn Act would force the PM to seek a Brexit delay from the EU, pushing the UK’s departure date back to 31 January.
“It is possible for us to come to an agreement, to have a treaty to allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly fashion, and to have that done by the end of October, but there’s many a slip between cup and lip,” Varadkar said yesterday.
Read more: How Boris Johnson rekindled hopes of a Brexit breakthrough
Politicians declined to comment on an Irish Times report that the UK had made “significant movement” on its customs policy.
Johnson has pledged to no border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.