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German government sources remain sceptical on whether the UK will follow up on hints at flexibility around its red lines with sufficient legal detail by tomorrow.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, is expected to brief heads of state with a progress report on Wednesday afternoon.

After last week’s meeting between Leo Varadkar and Boris Johnson, officials in Berlin are optimistic the British government is actively trying to reach a deal, and that it is no longer ruling out compromises it has ruled out in the past.

At the same time, there is a belief that all possible solutions to the Irish border questions have already been played through over the last three years – and that the reasons they were rejected the first time around haven’t gone away.