The EU is to set out proposals later to address the row about trade in Northern Ireland.
The UK wants to change the deal struck as part of the Brexit process to allow goods to circulate more freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
It says the current rules impose too many barriers to the sale of chilled meats and other products.
The EU’s proposals, which it calls far-reaching, are expected to involve reduced checks on goods and medicines.
Under the current arrangement, a hard border on the island of Ireland is avoided by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods.
But it creates a new trade border with Great Britain which unionists say undermines their place in the UK.
