New year, same feud: UK-EU resume talks on Brexit trade spat

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called for Britain and the European Union to rebuild their relationship, as she and bloc’s top Brexit official met Thursday for talks on a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade.

Truss and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic were meeting at Chevening House, the foreign secretary’s official country retreat in southeast England.

Truss urged the EU to show a “pragmatic approach” to resolving problems that have soured the relationship since Britain left the 27-nation bloc last year.

“As fellow believers in liberty and democracy, we should be capable of reaching an agreement that delivers for Northern Ireland and allows us to unleash the full potential of our relationship,” she said.

Sefcovic said he wanted “stability” and “predictability” for Northern Ireland, the only part of the U.K. sharing a border with an EU member and where wrangling over post-Brexit rules has been centered.

As part of the divorce deal, the two sides agreed to keep Northern Ireland inside the EU’s tariff-free single market for goods to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland — a key pillar of Northern Ireland’s peace process.

That created a new customs border in the Irish Sea for goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. even though they are part of the same country. The arrangement has brought red tape and supply problems for some businesses, and it has angered Northern Ireland’s British Unionists, who say the checks undermine Northern Ireland’s place in the U.K. and destabilize the delicate political balance on which peace rests.

Truss was appointed Britain’s lead EU negotiator last month after Brexit Minister David Frost quit, citing disillusionment with the Conservative government’s policies on issues...