MNI BRIEF: EU-UK Agreement On IT Boosts N.Ireland Deal Hopes

The EU and U.K. have agreed on EU access to U.K. IT systems, a key step on the road towards an overall deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which has vexed relations between the two sides since Brexit.

The deal announced following a meeting between European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, Foreign Secretary Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Heaton-Harris in London today is a “critical prerequisite to building trust” ahead of smoothing trade flows between the U.K. and Northern Ireland, EU officials said.

A UK official called the move “a genuine compromise move, with UK opening up some databases for examination and the EU prepared to accept that.”

"Does it mean an NIP deal is round the corner -- no, no yet, but it certainly helps sentiment when the teams on both sides put a tick on the board," the official said.

The U.K. and EU will take stock of progress on Jan16.