BBG-By Feb, UK & EU Hope To Finalise NI Brexit Agreement

BBG carrying some of the more positive comments in some time regarding the Northern Ireland protocol, one of the major obstacles to a functioning EU-UK relationship,. States that by February 2023 the UK and EU hope to finalise a deal on the contentious Northern Ireland protocol, ahead of the unofficial deadline of April, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.

• Bloomberg: "The two sides have intensified talks over recent weeks on the so-called Northern Ireland protocol after months of stalemate, according to people familiar with the matter."
• UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission VP Maros Sefcovic set to meet in-person for the first time in Brussels on Thursday.
• Still unclear where the flexibility is going to come from to reach a deal. The EU does not want to alter its rulebook w/regard to role of ECJ in dispute resolution and will not risk the integrity of the single market. The UK gov't will face significant pressure from backbench Conservative MPs opposed to any deal involving ECJ or risking NI-GB unity, as will unionist politicians in Northern Ireland.