European Union heads of government will move into the second phase of Brexit negotiations on Friday.

It follows a breakthrough in negotiations on the Irish border last week.

For farmers, it means that there will be no hard border for agricultural goods between the Republic and Northern Ireland and no hard border between Northern Ireland and Britain.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in Brussels for the two-day summit, but the next phase of talks will take place without UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Thursday, he reiterated the government position in relation to the agreed “full alignment” of Northern Ireland and the Republic post-Brexit, saying: “Our view is [the Joint Report] is very strong language. Maintain means, ‘keep as it is’ of course. Full means ‘full’, not ‘partial’, and alignment means ‘keep in line’.

The second phase of Brexit negotiations is set to be even more difficult than the first.

First, the EU will prepare for a transition period from March 2019, followed by the start of complex trade talks.

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