Brexit talks are stuck with little hope of progress before May

Brussels

EUROPEAN Union and UK attempts to jump-start negotiations over the post-Brexit trading relationship in Northern Ireland have so far failed to make any progress, and diplomats see little chance for any substantial progress until they get past a key election scheduled for May.

The 2 sides have not moved at all on the substance of their differences over cross-border trade in Northern Ireland, even though the tone has been more constructive, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The negotiations have been at a standstill for months, even after the UK appointed a new Brexit chief, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in December, who many hoped would give the process new momentum. The EU has said there was a window of opportunity for a deal through the end of the month before campaigning begins for Northern Ireland assembly elections in May. In the meantime, political turmoil in Belfast and London is another distraction, with the collapse of Northern Ireland's executive and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson battling for his political future in the so-called Partygate scandal.

Truss will meet with her EU counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, on Friday (Feb 11) to continue discussions, even though talks have not moved forward, according to an EU official, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.

At issue is the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement signed by Johnson that allowed the region to remain in the bloc's single market by putting a customs border in the Irish Sea. Johnson has declined to implement all the requirements of the protocol, saying it has disrupted trade and needs to be re-negotiated. He has threatened to invoke Article 16, which allows either side to unilaterally suspend parts of the protocol.

Last week, a minister in Northern Ireland provoked an uproar by ordering inspections on agri-food goods to stop, only to have a Belfast court overrule him.

The EU had decried the original order as a breach of international law, even as the British government insisted it was a matter for the region's power-sharing assembly. BLOOMBERG