EU, UK agree temporary truce in Northern Ireland 'sausage war'

The EU and the UK agreed on Wednesday to postpone a ban on some meat products being sold in Northern Ireland by three months in the latest twist in a long-running Brexit row. Downing Street and the European Commission have been at loggerheads for months over rules governing the export of chilled meats from the British mainland. The extension of a grace period will stop products such as fresh sausages from being banned from supermarket shelves in the province. British newspapers have described the row as a "sausage war." No 'blank cheque' for Britain But the EU's top Brexit official, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, warned that the UK had not been handed "a blank cheque." "This solution is of a temporary nature, in which strong conditions are attached," he told journalists. David Frost, the British government's Brexit minister, called the compromise a "sensible extension." "This is a positive first step but we still need to agree on a permanent solution. Northern ...