Brexit has dominated the airwaves over the past week, even though little has changed in terms of the outcome taking shape.

As things stand with less than 18 months until the UK leaves the EU, trade between EU members and the UK is heading to the same as with any third country on WTO rules.

Much has been made of the more positive tone around this week’s Council in Brussels, where there appeared a genuine attempt by all parties to suggest the mood was good and everyone was hopeful of progress in the future.

The problem is there is a limited time left for kicking the can down the road.

EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan was as blunt as anyone in his role is ever likely to be with his withering assessment of the UK Brexit position.

Ireland

The great concern for Irish farmers above all others in the EU is what happens to the critical markets for beef and cheese after 30 March 2019.

Much has been made of finding an arrangement for the Irish border and there is a consensus between both the EU and UK about wanting to keep things as they are.

The difficulty remains how to do this while it is an entry and exit point between the EU and UK if the UK is no longer a part of the same customs union as the EU.

There have been various soundings about how Northern Ireland could become some sort of designated zone within the UK but retaining the benefits of EU trading arrangements.

If such an arrangement could be found that was politically acceptable to unionist politicians in Northern Ireland – and that is a big if – it would facilitate trade on the island of Ireland.

That would enable present arrangements for milk and sheep to come south for processing and cattle and pigs go north.

East-west

However, this would only be a partial solution, with Northern Ireland being the main beneficiary.

It would do nothing for the big issues of beef and sheep in the Republic of Ireland as this trade is with Britain, not Northern Ireland. For Irish farmers, it is east-west trade that is the issue, not north-south trade (or vice versa).

Any solution must work for both sides of the Irish border on agricultural produce.

If the Brexit negotiations can look at the issue of trade on a British Isles angle, then there is some real potential to address the most obvious conundrum of the negotiations.

The Irish Government has had to leave the negotiations on this and everything else to the lead EU negotiator, Michel Barnier. In return, Ireland and the border has received a particularly high priority as one of the three EU negotiating priorities.

Given the uniqueness of the Irish–UK relationship, greatly enhanced by the Good Friday agreement plus the sheer dependence for trade in agricultural produce, it is not enough to leave it to the UK to come forward with proposals.

The EU, with a strong Irish input, should explore what can be done proactively within the context of the overall EU negotiating position. The rest of the EU can live with a hard Brexit. Irish farmers cannot.