Simon Coveney will meet Michel Barnier in Brussels today, kicking off a week of activity in Brussels as politicians seek to avoid a no-deal Brexit next month.
Theresa May, the British prime minister, is expected to speak to every EU leader this week in an attempt to seek changes to the withdrawal agreement. She is likely to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission president, in Brussels on Wednesday.
Mrs May has already told EU leaders that she could pass her deal with concessions around the backstop — a guarantee that there can be no return to border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, will meet Mr Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, in Brussels today and Geoffrey Cox, Britain’s attorney-general, will