Intense talks, familiar wrangles as UK, EU seek Brexit reset

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Senior U.K. and European Union officials are meeting as part of what Britain calls “intensive negotiations” to resolve a thorny post-Brexit trade dispute that has spawned a political crisis. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris traveled to Brussels on Thursday for talks with Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. Hopes of a breakthrough were raised last week when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak flew to Belfast to meet leaders of Northern Ireland’s political leaders and discuss progress. But hints of compromise by the U.K. government sparked opposition from hard-line euroskeptics in Sunak’s governing Conservative Party, costing the prime minister vital political momentum to secure a deal.