European President Maros Sefcovic clashes at the start of Brexit talks

The Brexit the talks were literally on thin ice today – as European President Maros Sefcovic fell on a slippery slope.

Mr Sefcovic found himself almost suddenly when he arrived in Chevening for talks Liz Truss and Northern Ireland protocol.

The Foreign Minister and the ministers watched in horror as he nearly lost his balance at the entrance to the majestic house in Kent, but recovered quickly.

Mr Sefcovic tweeted pictures of the couple walking around the park, saying they had an “opportunity” to address critical issues.

Brexit separation rules have been blamed for fomenting sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland, and the DUP is demanding that the protocol be lifted altogether.

The UK government has threatened to invoke Article 16 and suspend the agreements if Brussels does not agree to a deeper overhaul.

Ms Truss said before the talks: “An agreement needs to be reached that will safeguard peace in Northern Ireland, defend our Union and preserve the integrity of the United Kingdom and the EU. However, it will require a pragmatic EU approach.

“From these fundamental principles, I will propose practical, reasonable solutions to agree on a plan for intensive negotiations.

“The EU has a clear responsibility to help address the myriad problems caused by the Protocol and to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement.”

Boris Johnson took responsibility for Brexit on Ms. Truss last month following the resignation of Brexit Minister Lord Frost over disagreements in politics.

Lord Frost, who negotiated the original Brexit deal, took a tough approach to the talks, which resulted in a number of concessions, but some also blamed him for deteriorating sentiment on key issues.

One Foreign Ministry source said the new approach would be “carrot and stick, but more carrot than stick”.

Chevening, a 115-room mansion in Kent, is one of the most magnificent properties in government books.

Mr Sefcovic and his team are preparing for a ‘political dinner’ hosted by Mrs Truss tonight, where they will be served Scottish smoked salmon, Welsh lamb and Kent apple pie.

Further talks will then resume tomorrow morning before Mr Sefcovic returns to Brussels.

Officials hope Ms Truss’ new proposals will then form the basis for two weeks of intense negotiations ahead of a further political meeting later this month, presumably in Brussels.

The source said he wanted to “focus on more practical solutions to problems that affect people on the ground”.

Downing Street said the UK still believes the conditions for triggering Article 16 – unilateral termination of parts of the treaty – have been met, but the government is still focused on trying to resolve the issues through talks.

A spokesman for the prime minister said: “We need to fix the problems in the protocol to protect the Belfast agreement and the peace process.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs will propose practical and reasonable solutions for agreeing on a plan for intensive negotiations.

“We strongly believe that an agreement needs to be reached, but the EU needs to show pragmatism.

“We still have a strong desire to reach a negotiated solution, which you can see we are working to achieve today.”

Mr Sefcovic tweeted: “We delivered the medicines in December. We now have the opportunity to do so on other issues based on far-reaching EU proposals. My goal: stability, predictability in NO. ‘

A Foreign Office source said the key principles set by Lord Frost would remain in place, focusing on facilitating the flow of goods between the UK and Northern Ireland by reducing paperwork and checks and ensuring that the European Court of Justice does not “finally arbitrator of disputes.

Following the Brexit agreement, Northern Ireland was given free access to the EU single market to avoid the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But this has led to the introduction of demanding EU controls on goods crossing the Irish Sea from the UK.