EU ‘sorry’ to see UK leave as leaders agree to Brexit deal

Britain marks five years since its decision to leave the European Union, with economic impacts just beginning and worries of a divided UK enduring.

The UK says the EU figure of €47.5 billion was for its "own internal accounting" and does not reflect money owed back to Britain.

The British government has urged the EU to rethink the part of the Brexit deal that governs trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But the European Commission has refused such requests in the past.

A lack of qualified drivers combined with tough visa regulations are slowing down the country's supply chains. Food retailers like McDonald's have been hit. The Christmas season could stretch things to the limit.

The UK has given Brussels ten days to respond to its demands over customs checkpoints in the Irish Sea. The UK's Brexit minister has told the EU to rethink the terms of its trade accord.

The measures could halve customs paperwork and checks on meat, dairy and other food products coming to Northern Ireland.

Britain's Brexit Minister David Frost has reacted to proposed EU concessions to ease bottlenecks affecting the trade in goods to Northern Ireland from the UK mainland.

Angela Merkel was praised as the "Eiffel Tower" of the European Union at her 107th, and likely final, leaders' summit. Even former US President Barack Obama sent a video message to Brussels for her.

Tensions over licensing rules for European Union fishing boats are rising as France has vowed to block access to its ports and the United Kingdom has threatened a "calibrated response.''

The work of a photographer who places human architecture at the centre of his pictures, before pulling back to show its effect on the surrounding landscape, is currently on display here in Paris. Donovan Wylie began taking pictures as a child while growing up in Northern Ireland. His latest exhibition at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris focuses on lighthouses and how they define the borders created by Brexit. He joined us for Perspective to tell us more about where he gets his inspiration.

The main European institutions have been based in Brussels for decades. But despite adding dynamism, they still don't seem to have found their place in the city they call home. The European Quarter is often viewed as a separate area; cold and cut off from the world. Now a handful of residents are fighting to bring the neighbourhood back to life and make the institutions part of a vibrant Brussels that's in touch with its citizens. The rise of teleworking, adapted en masse since the pandemic, could give them a helping hand. The Commission is looking to reduce its office space in the city from the current 780,000 m² to 580,000 m². Our correspondents report.

A year after Britain's new trade pact with the EU was sealed, UK exports to the bloc have plunged. With unfinished business around fisheries, Northern Ireland and financial services, what's next for Brexit?