Britain sticking to EU deal timeline, Irish fin min says after talks

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlines his government's negotiating stance with the European Union after Brexit, during a key speech at the Old Naval College in Greenwich on February 3, 2020 in London, England.

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Britain appears to be sticking to its plan to seek a free trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020 even though formal talks have been postponed due to the coronavirus, Ireland's finance minister said after talks with his British counterpart.

"My sense at the moment is that the British government will not be changing the timeline they have in relation to Brexit," Donohoe told a news conference on Friday, citing a conversation with British finance minister Rishi Sunak a day earlier.

"We have said on a number of occasions that we thought it was already going to be very demanding to get all of this done by the end of the year. It is going to be a matter for the United Kingdom ... but a pretty demanding agenda has definitely gotten even more demanding because of how COVID-19 (coronavirus) has occupied the efforts of everybody."