Progress has been made on resolving the deadlock over the Northern Ireland protocol despite comments by the leader of the Democratic Unionist party leader, Jeffrey Donaldson who said the UK and EU are not anywhere close to a deal.
His comments come after the first roundtable talks between the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and local parties were left in disarray last week after Sinn Féin were excluded from the meeting.
The SDLP walked out in protest over the exclusion.
Fianna Fail Dublin MEP Barry Andrews things are moving in the right direction and trust is beginning to be restored:
"We have made some progress - that has to be acknowledged: the data agreement and the decision to go ahead with border control posts are positive. There's definitely more trust between the parties. Joint statements have been issued. But we have to remember we're back to a position we were in about two years ago. In other words, the UK are simply agreeing to do what they've already agreed to do".
