Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU gives go-ahead to intensify Brexit talks… EU countries have agreed to “intensify” Brexit talks with the UK over the next few days. The development comes after a meeting in Brussels between Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, described by both sides as “constructive”. But UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was “a way to go” before a deal could be reached. The UK is due to leave the EU at 23:00 GMT on 31 October. A European leaders’ summit next week is seen as the last chance to agree a deal before that deadline. Mr Johnson put forward revised proposals for a deal last week, designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit. Speaking on Friday, he said there was not “a done deal”, adding: “The best thing we can do now is let our negotiators get on with it.” – BBC News EU’s Barnier and UK’s Barclay had ‘constructive’ Brexit meeting – spokeswoman – Reuters …as EU sources suggest checks in the Irish sea could be the solution… Separately, two senior EU diplomats told Reuters the possible solution could include two elements: keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom’s customs union and, at the same time, ensuring that customs and regulatory checks were carried out together. Under a recent UK proposal, the regulatory border would run in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Britain. The sources said they understood that customs checks could be carried there as well under the plan now under discussions. That marked a change from the latest EU-UK discussions when London proposed to do dispersed customs checks across the whole island of Ireland, which the bloc rejected as unworkable and not offering enough protection to its single market. – Reuters Under the plan, the whole of the United Kingdom leaves the EU customs union, in a big and important win for Boris Johnson. However, the EU tariff regime will continue to be applied on whole of the island of Ireland. This means that the tariffs charged in Great Britain could be different to those in Northern Ireland. But under the compromise agreement, all businesses in Northern Ireland will be able to benefit from UK tariffs by offering a rebate on goods sold, if the UK tariff is lower than the EU one. This plan allows Europe to say the island of Ireland is in one customs zone. Which is a win for them. This plan also allows Mr Johnson to say the whole of the UK has left the customs union and Northern Ireland can – like the rest of Great Britain benefit from trade deals, which is a win for him. This compromise comes in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, which allowed for competing interpretations of one set of rules to allow peace in Northern Ireland. Though, in truth, Britain has probably compromised more than the EU in this process. – Sky News UK ‘softens Brexit position’ in final push for deal – Politico Boris Johnson’s deal has come back from the dead — a truly remarkable turnaround – James Forsyth for The Sun Too early to break out the champagne, but at last it looks like progress is being made – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) Anti-Brexit pundits like Peter Foster were certain Boris couldn’t reopen the Withdrawal Agreement – Guido Fawkes …but the DUP say the constitutional integrity of the UK must be respected Reminding Prime Minister Boris Johnson that it was “very relevant” to the parliamentary arithmetic in London, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster added that any deal that aligns the British-run region to parts of the EU’s single market must have democratic consent within Northern Ireland “The DUP has always indicated that the United Kingdom must leave the EU as one nation and in so doing that no barriers to trade are erected within the UK,” she said in a statement. “In December 2017 we insisted that democratic consent was required in circumstances where Northern Ireland would align alongside specific sectors of the EU single market. – Reuters DUP vows to kill off Brexit deal if Boris Johnson keeps Northern Ireland in customs union – Independent We are sceptical about this ‘pathway’ Boris Johnson and Ireland’s Leo Varadkar have laid – The Sun says Donald Tusk says the UK has not yet been ‘realistic’ The UK has “still not come forward with a workable, realistic proposal” but there are “promising signals” that a deal could be reached, Donald Tusk said. The European Council president spoke to journalists this morning shortly before a meeting between the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and UK Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay concluded in Brussels. “There’s no guarantee of success and the time is practically up, but even the slightest chance must be used,” Tusk said. “Technical talks are taking place in Brussels as we speak.” It comes after one-to-one talks on Thursday between Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar concluded positively. – Politico France’s Macron on possibility of Brexit deal: ‘Let us wait for next few hours’ – Reuters Boris Johnson will ask MPs to choose deal or delay on ‘Super Saturday’ Boris Johnson will challenge MPs to back any deal he secures from Brussels within 24 hours of a crunch European summit next week when parliament sits on a Saturday for the first time in nearly 40 years. The prime minister is preparing to hold a vote on his deal on a “Super Saturday” sitting of parliament as he challenges members to endorse his approach or force through a Brexit delay. If the vote passes, parliament will sit for seven days a week, late into the night, as he seeks to push legislation through the Commons and the Lords with less than a fortnight to go before the October 31 Brexit date. The Times has been told that Mr Johnson will table a single motion on Saturday combining both a vote on any deal he secures and the terms of the Benn act, which forces him to request a Brexit extension if a deal cannot be reached. – The Times (£) Ferry firms land £87m deal to ship medicines in the event of No Deal The government has signed freight contracts worth £86.6m with four ferry companies to ship medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Brittany Ferries, DFDS, P&O and Stena Line will provide additional capacity for up to 3,000 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) a week using eight ports away from the Dover-Calais short straits across the English Channel. In the event of no-deal, the government has forecast traffic across the Channel could be disrupted for six months, with a reduction in freight capacity of up to 60%. Earlier this week the outgoing chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies warned that “patients may die” because of medicine shortages caused by a no-deal Brexit. The six month contracts will see ferries available to run from October 31 on 13 routes from the continent. – Sky News John McDonnell suggests Labour could be open to a referendum before an election The Labour party is abuzz with talk that the party could back a second referendum before a general election. It’s not that Jeremy Corbyn has suggested such a move is on the cards – in fact, this week he’s been saying the exact opposite while setting out his stall for a general election. However, John McDonnell has used an interview with Alastair Campbell for GQ to open the door to the possibility of holding a second referendum first.- The Spectator Jeremy Corbyn defies McDonnell and declares: I’m ready for an election – The Times (£) Owen Paterson: Trapping Northern Ireland in the EU’s Customs Union would catastrophically undermine the Good Friday Agreement There were encouraging noises from the talks with the Taoiseach on Thursday that a practical and mutually-beneficial deal with the EU can be reached. Boris Johnson’s offer to the EU to ensure that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is kept seamless using existing techniques and processes is a pragmatic one, and should form the basis of productive discussions. There is still, however, a danger that lurking beneath the warm words is a plan from the EU and the Republic of Ireland to keep Northern Ireland permanently in the Customs Union. There is a risk that Martin Selmayr’s view that Northern Ireland should be the price the UK pays for Brexit continues to prevail. – Owen Paterson for the Telegraph (£) John Longworth: The moment Boris must put Brexit before party unity We – and that means Boris Johnson too – should make no mistake as to what is at stake. If we fail to leave now, the chances of leaving reduce. The EU is in full steam towards the creation of a supra-national state, with Germany in particular and to a lesser extent France calling the shots. I witness this week in, week out, in Brussels and Strasbourg. Once again Britain faces an existential threat… Once the UK leaves, provided we have the freedom to succeed, the dynamic will change. We will have savoured the sweet taste of Liberty. We will have in our hands the levers of the economy. People will get used to this and it will become unconscionable that we should rejoin. This is the nightmare of Remainers. – John Longworth MEP for ConservativeWoman Rob Wilson: As we reach the Brexit endgame, Boris must avoid becoming the next Theresa May Compromises where the DUP or ERG wouldn’t follow the Prime Minister. It could all end up in a Saturday vote in Parliament where nothing passes, and we are back to Theresa May territory where “nothing has changed”. Any association with the May regime would make winning an election much harder as it would galvinise the Brexit Party, making the election outcome far from certain. Having pursued such a clear and clever negotiating strategy, it is highly unlikely that the Prime Minister would abandon it at the final moment of truth. By playing hardball, not compromising on key principles, Johnson and Cummings have got the UK into a position where there is an acceptable way out of the negotiating mess they inherited. All that is needed is the Government, the Conservative Party and Leave supporters to hold their nerve in the highly pressurised and dramatic week to follow. – Rob Wilson for the Telegraph (£) Germany’s ailing economy can’t afford a no-deal Brexit The UK was the ‘sick man’ when we ‘joined Europe’ in 1973. Now, with Britain on the cusp of leaving, the European Union’s largest economy is decidedly out of sorts. After failing to recover over the summer, Germany is now almost certainly in recession. The state of the fourth biggest economy on earth always matters — but with Germany dragging down the broader eurozone, its declining health could decisively impact Brexit negotiations too. – Liam Halligan for The Spectator Brexit in Brief The Remainers are furious: Boris Johnson might actually get a Brexit deal – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Brexit party voters will decide Boris Johnson’s fate – Matthew Goodwin for The Spectator If his deal fails, Boris Johnson should resign rather than accept the political suicide of a Brexit delay – Andrew Lilico for the Telegraph (£) Philip Hammond with yet more Brexit nonsense – Jayne Adye for Get Britain Out Ruparel’s potential ‘landing zone’ – ConservativeHome Here’s to a Brexit deal – it will annoy all the right people – Iain Martin for Reaction Brexit is far from the finishing line – Tom Slater for Spiked The Brexit negotiation and where it goes – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Why I probably won’t be getting Brexit for my birthday – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Brexit Britain can fill the gap left by a retreating Trump – Con Coughlin for the Telegraph (£) MPs must oppose the PM’s Brexit plans – or workers will pay the price – Frances O’Grady for LabourList New law to fast track deportation of suspects wanted abroad to be unveiled in Queen’s Speech – The Sun Boris Johnson talks DUP into major climbdown sparking negotiations for last minute Brexit deal – The Sun