"Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has taken more time today than anything else. We discussed two aspects of it. One, of course, is the political sensitivities which everybody understands and the other is the determination to maintain as near as possible invisible border so we do not undermine the peace process and do not provide any cause for concern in Northern Ireland," Davis said at a press conference after the first day of EU-UK talks on Brexit.
"The protection of the Good Friday agreement and maintenance of the common travel area are the most urgent issues to discuss," Michel Barnier, the European Commission chief Brexit negotiator, said.
Barnier noted that the parties to the talks aimed at agreeing on the key challenges of the UK withdrawal from the United Kingdom as soon as possible, including the mutual citizens' rights, financial settlement and the issues of borders, particularly in Ireland.
"We want to preserve all the aspects and all the obligations under the Good Friday agreement. And we want to maintain all the aspects of the common travel area," Barnier added.
