A post-Brexit trade deal is expected to be announced today.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission Ursula von der Leyen are set to speak this morning to finalise the deal.
News conferences by Mr Johnson and Mrs von der Leyen were expected early this morning, but they are believed to have been delayed as details on fishing quotas are finalised.
Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan told Newstalk Breakfast an agreement appears to be 'imminent'.
He said the expected announcement will come as some good news at the end of a difficult year.
The trade talks between the UK and EU continued through the night.
A spokesperson for Mrs von der Leyen said they were hoping for an 'early start' following the late night talks.
#brexit work will continue throughout the night. Grabbing some sleep is recommended to all brexit-watchers at this point. It will hopefully be an early start tomorrow morning...
— Eric Mamer (@MamerEric) December 24, 2020
It comes just days before the scheduled end of the 11-month transition period, during which the UK continued following EU rules and regulations while negotiating on the details of the 'future relationship'.
Fishing rights had been a major sticking point in the final weeks of talks, but it's now believed a compromise has been agreed.
