EU seeks to resolve N. Ireland impasse with UK by end of Feb

FILE PHOTO: A bus drives past an anti-protocol Brexit sign on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland near Newry, Northern Ireland, October 13, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is seeking to resolve the impasse with Britain over Northern Ireland's trading arrangements by the end of February, aware that campaigning then begins for the province's assembly, the EU's chief negotiator told lawmakers on Thursday.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who oversees post-Brexit relations with Britain, told a closed session of European Parliament members that a window of opportunity was likely to close by the end of February, according to attendees at the meeting and those briefed on it.