Hello and welcome to Brexit Republic, RTE's podcast on Brexit.

I'm Tony Connolly, RTE's Europe editor at the first face-to-face EU summit in Brussels since February.

And I'm Colomomomonga and RTE's Deputy Foreign Editor, normally in Dublin, but currently at home in my kitchen in Kildare.

Each week, Brexit Republic assesses all the latest Brexit developments in Dublin, but currently at home in my kitchen in Kildare. Each week,

Brexit Republic assesses all the latest Brexit developments in Brussels, London and in Dublin.

Well, masks on, social distancing at the ready, elbows poised for bumping. We'll take a quick look at what EU leaders are hoping to achieve in Brussels and what it means for Brexit. And we'll cast a

gimlet eye over the UK's plan

to take back control from Brussels, but not necessarily give that control to Britain's regions.

We'll be assessing the prospects for a breakthrough anytime soon in the future relationship negotiations

and catching up with the Northern Ireland protocol and how it's being implemented. But first, Tony, it'll be rude of us not to mention the summit where you are at the moment. We've had many Brexit-themed summits in the past, but this definitely isn't one of them, even though it will have a knock-on effect. Tell us how things are going there so far. Today, as we record this on Friday in the late afternoon. It's very intense column

and it promises to be a very long night and a long weekend for those of us having to cover

this and we're covering it obviously at a distance because the press and media in general

are not allowed anywhere near the summit venue, the Justice Lispius building and the Europa building here.

In Brussels, everything is being streamed out by the European Council TV and audiovisual services.

And if you want to get your hands on a prime minister, you have to arrange a date, a rendezvous

beforehand.

So we did manage to speak to Mihal Martin, the Taoiseach on his first summit duty as Taoiseach.

And of course, as you say, it is the first summit that we've had since

since late February but they're trying to get an agreement on the 750 billion euro

COVID-19 recovery plan and it's proving to be an extremely difficult project and a lot of politics, a lot of division on this,

even though there is a sense that Europe has to step up to the plate, and this is a moment

of truth for Europe, as Emmanuel Macron has said.

...