Brexit: EU expects UK 'road map' on NI Protocol

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which created the Irish Sea border

The EU says it expects to receive a UK "road map" on implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the coming days.

It follows a meeting of senior officials who are overseeing the Northern Ireland deal.

A UK government statement does not mention a roadmap, instead referring to an "agreed work programme".

Friday's meeting is the first since the EU started legal action after the UK changed how the protocol was being implemented.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which created the Irish Sea border.

• Why are there Brexit checks in Northern Ireland?

• Can the Northern Ireland Protocol be tweaked?

• NI Protocol needs consent of 'all of NI's people'

Earlier this month, the UK government changed how the protocol was being implemented without EU agreement.

It delayed the introduction of new sea border checks on food, parcels and pets.

It also moved unilaterally to ease the trade in horticultural products across from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

The EU has begun legal action as a consequence.

Both sides said the meeting of the "specialised committee" took place in a "constructive atmosphere" and that contacts would continue next week.

The UK government said it had made clear that continued progress would "require action from the EU as well as the UK".

The EU again said many of the sea border issues could be solved if the UK was prepared to strike an agri-food deal which would involve following EU rules.

Such a move has been ruled out by Lord Frost, the UK's Brexit Minister.