What has given us a glimmer of light at the end of tortuous tunnel?

THE chances of a Brexit deal before the looming deadline have increased following Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

:: So what has happened to allow a glimmer of hope in the Brexit nightmare?

Mr Varadkar’s trip to a Cheshire country mansion for a three-hour meeting with Mr Johnson may just have yielded some results. Both said they had found a “pathway” to a possible deal.

:: What are the likely terms of an agreement?

The British side appears to have ceded some ground on how to avoid a hard border in Ireland. Mr Johnson had wanted to keep Northern Ireland out of the EU Customs Union. However, the latest proposals would see checks at ports and airports – to all intents and purposes creating a border in the Irish Sea.

:: What did the EU think?

It hasn’t ruled it out. The Irish side kept the EU’s taskforce informed of the talks. Europe’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier met UK Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay for breakfast on Friday where the possible deal was discussed. Later Mr Barnier gave the green light for intense negotiations in the so-called ‘tunnel’.

:: What is the tunnel?

The ‘tunnel’ is a phrase used in EU circles when negotiations go into total top-secret lockdown involving just the key players on UK and European sides.

:: So is this a positive development?

In comparison to the situation at the start of the week where Downing Street sources were engaged in negative briefing against Mr Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe delivered a no-deal Brexit Budget, it undoubtedly is. But there should also be caution. One diplomat engaged in the process said: “It’s a tunnel with a very small light at the end of it.”

:: What is the Irish government saying about it?

As little as possible for fear of harming the chances of a deal. After the talks on Thursday Mr Varadkar would only say he believed it was possible to come to an agreement for an orderly Brexit by October 31. He also warned: “There’s many a slip between cup and lip and lots of things that are not in my control.”

:: And the British?

Mr Johnson last night said there’s “a way to go” before a deal could be reached.

:: What about the DUP?

It has always opposed the prospect of any kind of customs border on the Irish Sea. Party leader Arlene Foster last night insisted Northern Ireland must leave the EU with the rest of the UK. She reasserted her party’s opposition to “anything that traps Northern Ireland in the European Union”. However, she was also careful not to rule out any proposed deal recognising the need to be “flexible” and to look at Northern Ireland-specific Brexit solutions that could be achieved with the consent of the representatives of its people.

:: So what happens next?

The UK and EU will go into secret negotiations. It’s highly unlikely a deal will be struck before next week’s European Council summit. But with there’s 19 days to go until the Brexit deadline there’s more hope than even a few days ago that a crashout can be avoided.