Brexit news – live: Barnier sets deadline for agreement, as No 10 admits ‘Australia-style deal’ is no-deal

Ireland’s transport minister has unveiled special plans to manage Brexit-related traffic congestion near Dublin Port after the end of the transition period.

The measures include enhanced traffic spacing, a queue management system for HGVs on the orbital M50 motorway and additional lorry parking facilities on the M1 motorway from the capital northwards.

The port processes huge amounts of freight which travels via Holyhead in Wales.

“No matter what happens in the ongoing Brexit negotiations, there will be major changes in how we do business with the UK from 1 January,” Eamon Ryan said.

“This traffic management plan, which is the result of close collaboration by many different agencies, is designed to deal with any congestion that may arise due to increased levels of checks at Dublin Port and to minimise the impact on the port tunnel, nearby motorways and the rest of the city.”

He added: “We know that Brexit is a challenge for our hauliers and thank them for their co-operation in ensuring they have the correct documentation to enter the port and that they follow the alerts and signage provided.”

The contingency plans will be in place from 1 January to mitigate the impact that Brexit-related traffic congestion may have on Dublin Port and the potential knock-on impacts on Dublin city.

The EU negotiating team appears to be in a pessimistic mood around talks with the UK but Boris Johnson could still agree to a post-Brexit trade deal, according to our political commentator Andrew Grice.

Andrew writes:

“A key element in this high-stakes poker game will be who blinks first. The endgame is usually about such choreography. There is a deal to be done: a natural trade-off between the EU allowing Johnson to trumpet a victory on fisheries, in return for the UK accepting some but not all EU demands on the level playing field – on how closely the UK will stick to EU rules on the environment, workers’ rights and state aid for business, and how these would be policed.”

You can find his full piece below:

Wales’ health minister has said disruption at ports from Brexit “could disrupt” medical supplies after the UK leaves the transition period at the end of this year.

Vaughan Gething told a press conference: “The disruptions into supply may not be there on day one, but there’s a challenge about longer-term arrangements, and that’s still to be worked through because the unavoidable truth is that in the broader arrangements we still don’t know where we’re going to be.

“That uncertainty is really unhelpful.”

He added that the UK government had made arrangements for certain medicines, such as coronavirus vaccines, to be flown into different parts of the UK if necessary.

“That obviously comes with an extra cost but it would simply be wholly unacceptable to have Covid vaccines held up at ports and then become ineffective and not able to be used, and so UK government have had to make those alternative arrangements,” Mr Gething said.

The European Commission spokesperson has refused to “speculate” on a final deadline for Brexit negotiations after chief negotiator Michel Barnier said talks would not be able to continue past Wednesday.

Downing Street has accepted that food prices will rise if the UK leaves the post-Brexit transition period without a trade deal in place.

The PM’s spokesperson referred reporters on Monday to environment secretary George Eustice’s comments saying there would be a less than 2 per cent rise on some products as a result of tariffs – although the increase could be higher on products such as beef and pork.

“The other point I would make… the big drivers of food prices are exchange rates and also other factors, such as fuel costs and weather events, that can have an impact on food availability,” the spokesperson added.

Leaving the EU on “Australia terms” would mean a no-deal Brexit in practice, Downing Street has admitted for the first time.

Boris Johnson’s spokesperson acknowledged on Monday that the “bulk” of the country’s trade is on World Trade Organisation terms, meaning tariffs and quotas would be needed for the UK.

You can find more on this breaking story below:

Downing Street has said it is prepared to negotiate for “as long as we have time available” after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told MEPs that the deadline for talks succeeding is Wednesday.

“Time is obviously in very short supply and we’re in the final stages, but we’re prepared to negotiate for as long as we have time available if we think an agreement is still possible,” the PM’s spokesperson said.

They added that fishing policy remained an issue under negotiation with Brussels in the post-Brexit trade deal talks.

“Significant differences remain on critical issues, fisheries being one of them, and that is one of the issues that is currently being negotiated by the team in Brussels today,” the spokesperson said.

It’s very “Groundhog Day” isn’t it, this Brexit thing, writes Sean O’Grady.

Fish. Level playing field. Governance. Sticking points. Red lines. Working hard for a deal. Sovereignty. Time is short. Fish … The only new element, and not an encouraging one, is that whereas both sides used to say that they weren’t getting very far, they can’t even agree on that now. 

Over the weekend EU sources told selected media that there’d been a piscatorial breakthrough: British sources angrily claimed that fish is not “sorted”. We can never be sure who’s being the more performative for the sake of the home audience.  

Read on here:

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said it would be a “significant failure” if no Brexit deal was agreed.

He said: “Overall, I think it is in the best interests of all concerned that a proper trade deal is agreed.

“Our respective economies would suffer, unnecessarily in my view, in the event of a no-deal.

“A deal can be arrived at. It would be a significant failure if we were to end up with no deal.”

He told media in Co Cork just days remained to clinch an accord as they move towards the end of the year.

Brexit trade negotiations between the EU and UK will not continue past Wednesday, Michel Barnier has said.

The Independent understands that the EU’s chief negotiator told MEPs in a closed meeting on Monday morning that talks were now in their “endgame”.

Here is Jon Stone with the story: