Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said that he will brief diplomats on Northern Ireland protocol negotiations, per Politico.

Three diplomats told Playbook that Šefčovič will sound out EU countries on how they think they should react if Johnson triggers Article 16.

“There is a consensus that London has gone too far,” one diplomat said.

“But we are not yet talking about a sanctions package” at today’s meeting, he added.

This comes as officials in Brussels are increasingly convinced the UK will trigger Article 16 of the Brexit deal as soon as next week.

Market reaction

GBP/USD is little affected by the renewed Brexit headlines, keeping its range around 1.3550, almost unchanged on the day.