Questions over the scale of EU/UK progress as Stormont talks resume

Today, the secretary of state, Chris Heaton-Harris, hosts ‘deadlock’ talks with the Stormont parties, designed to restore power-sharing. No doubt, the government plans to put more pressure on the DUP to drop its demand that the protocol is resolved before devolution resumes.

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is due to join the discussions. His recent statement with the European Commission’s vice-president, Maros Sefcovic, was described by some outlets as a ‘breakthrough’ that would ‘unlock’ further progress in negotiations.

That would seem to exaggerate the significance of a technical agreement to give Brussels access to data on goods and animals arriving in Northern Ireland from the mainland.

The protocol created practical problems for traders that the clever use of technology might ease. However, the EU previously dismissed these ideas as ‘magical thinking’.

In any case, the constitutional issues that the sea border raised were always more important to unionists than extra checks or paperwork. There are few signs that Brussels is about to concede on key areas like the European court’s jurisdiction, British regulations for products in NI or state aid.

The DUP promised voters that it would not restore the executive without a comprehensive solution to the protocol. It’s hard to see how it could reverse this policy on the basis of a technical deal that left vital parts of the sea border in place, without damaging its chances in forthcoming elections.

If Mr Heaton-Harris and Mr Cleverly really hope to take credit for restoring devolution, the UK’s negotiators must have made more progress behind closed doors. The latest announcement looks nothing like a major staging post on the way toward a deal acceptable to unionists.