As RTE News undertands the European Union is considering making a more explicit link between energy and fish as Brexit negotiations enter a critical phase.

A number of sources have confirmed that the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier will seek to use the leverage of the EU's energy market as a potential way of unblocking the UK's resistance to granting European fishing fleets ongoing access to British waters.

It is understood Mr Barnier has privately acknowledged a potential link between continued access to the EU's energy market which diplomats say is potentially highly valuable to the UK and the fisheries aspect of the negotiations, which remains deadlocked.

"The position of the UK [on fish] is quite strong," an EU official said, "but there are also connections. Sometimes the UK is interested in having access to [the single market] on energy."

One EU diplomat told RTÉ News: "The energy market is considerably more valuable to [the UK] than the entire fish stock that they're talking about. Barnier seems to have paused the discussions on energy for the moment, and this link has been made with fish."

More on this political development of the negotiations here.