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Expected in Great Britain on Monday: Ursula von der Leyen
Photo: JOHANNA GERON / REUTERS
Northern Ireland shares a land border with EU member Ireland but is no longer part of the EU since Brexit.
This constellation has been a source of conflict since Britain left the EU.
Both sides are now working on a solution, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The two would meet in the UK on Monday, the EU Commission and Sunak's Downing Street office said.
The politicians had decided to continue working personally on practical solutions for the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
Von der Leyen recently called the talks with Great Britain about the controls in Northern Ireland that would become necessary after Brexit "very constructive".
British media reported that an agreement was as good as reached.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit Treaty.
It stipulates that the customs border between Great Britain and the EU runs in the Irish Sea.
This was to prevent border controls between British Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland having to be introduced.
If there were, it was feared that the armed conflict to unify the two parts of Ireland could flare up again.
However, controls are causing difficulties in internal British trade, and the Union's Protestant supporters in Northern Ireland feel cut off from Britain.
Crucial to the success of an agreement is therefore whether Sunak manages to get the largest Protestant Unionist party in Northern Ireland, the DUP, behind him.
In protest against the protocol, they have been blocking the formation of a government in the British part of the country for months.
In several guest posts and interviews, Sunak has already brought his party, his critics and the British people to an agreement.
ktz/dpa/AP