The EU is seeking to have 15 customs and veterinary staff working alongside UK officials at ports and Belfast Airport to ensure the proper implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, RTÉ News understands.

In return, the EU would drop an earlier request to have a physical office in Belfast.

The issue was raised during a meeting this morning of the EU-UK Joint Committee, which officials have described as positive and constructive.

One official cautiously described the encounter in London as a potential "turning point" in the process of both sides having to agree how to implement the Protocol, which provides for customs and regulatory formalities on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain, will work.

The meeting was led by the European Commission executive vice-president Maros Sefcovic and Michael Gove, a minister in the Cabinet Office.

More on this latest development here.