EU will compromise with London under right conditions

Significance

The Northern Ireland protocol will be top of the agenda. The EU has indicated a willingness to negotiate with London while the controversial Northern Ireland protocol bill remains active and make further concessions, should the United Kingdom engage with the EU’s October 2021 proposals.

Impacts

• The Truss-Von der Leyen meeting will be cautious; they may both agree that formal negotiations could resume and set a date for it.
• The European Commission has already done considerable preparatory work on trade measures, should it come to that.
• The medium-to-longer-term prospects for EU-UK trade relations would be better should the Labour Party win the next election.