Reaching Brexit deal hard but 'doable', says Ireland

LONDON: With Britain and the European Union set to resume crucial post-Brexit talks on Monday, the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said clinching a deal was very difficult but achievable.

"This is very difficult but it's also very doable," Coveney told Sky News on Sunday, stressing that negotiators are entering "move week" to reach a deal.

"We've got to make great progress this week," he said.

Negotiations for a post-Brexit free trade deal are to resume in London with both sides acknowledging major obstacles remain and time is running out.

The Sunday Times reported that both sides have agreed November 23 is the new deadline for a trade deal that would enter force from January 1.

Britain's Environment Secretary, George Eustice, told Sky News that he agreed with Coveney that next week is crucial.

"This needs to be a week when things move, when we break through some of these difficult issues and get a resolution," he said.

Nevertheless Coveney warned that Britain would scupper a deal if it goes ahead with its internal market bill that unilaterally rewrites the divorce treaty it struck with the European Union.

"If the British government is determined to continue with their internal market bill... then I think this is a deal that won't be ratified by the EU," he said. 

He said it was an "absolutely unanimous view" among EU officials that if Britain "deliberately decides to break international law and undermine a treaty that's not even 12 months old, then why will the EU sign up to a new deal when the UK is breaking the existing one linked to Brexit?"

The upper chamber of the British parliament in October symbolically defeated the government over the controversial legislation.

Eustice however confirmed the government would be "putting those measures back", stressing that these powers would only be needed in the case of no deal.

Other sticking points are fishing rights and ensuring a "level playing field" to maintain fair competition between UK and EU firms.

Coveney said the dispute on fishing quotas was "emotive" and both sides needed to "dial down the language" to reach a compromise, while Eustice noted there was still "some way between us."

Britain wants more than half the fish in its waters to be reserved for UK-based boats, while the EU wants this figure to be no more than 20 percent, the Sunday Times reported.

"Fish don't hold passports," Coveney said, arguing that species such as mackerel move between territorial water.