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UK and EU Nearing Provisional Brexit Deal in Northern Ireland Talks

  • Technical-level solutions close on customs, state aid, checks
  • Any deal would still need endorsement of political parties
The Edward Carson Statue at Stormont in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Edward Carson Statue at Stormont in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Photographer: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images 

UK and European Union negotiators are nearing a provisional agreement on post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, putting them in touching distance of a final settlement after years of often fraught talks, people familiar with the matter said.

The two sides have been locked in intensive negotiations for weeks and officials are close to finding solutions at a technical level covering most pending issues, including on customs, state aid and sanitary checks on agri-food goods, according to the people, who spoke anonymously about talks that haven’t concluded.