U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Irish counterpart, Micheal Martin, will hold talks on Thursday, a further indication that the U.K. government is pushing hard to end a long-running spat with the European Union over Brexit.
U.K.-EU relations have been strained for months over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. But negotiations restarted in October, and there are clear signs of progress on a deal, with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney saying this week that an agreement is "doable” by the end of the year.
Sunak will meet Martin in northwest England ahead of a British-Irish Council summit, where the U.K. premier is expected to call for pragmatism and for all sides to "work together in our shared interests.”