The European Commission’s president said she has had “encouraging” meetings with Rishi Sunak over the Northern Ireland Protocol and is “very confident” a solution can be found.
But Ursula von der Leyen, arriving in Dublin for a two-day visit on Thursday, also said the consequences of Brexit cannot be entirely removed.
Westminster and Brussels continue to negotiate over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was introduced after Brexit to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However, it has effectively placed a border in the Irish Sea as Northern Ireland has to stick to some EU import/export rules, while goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are subject to a tariff if they are “at risk” of being moved into the EU afterward.
Read more: What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
A bill was introduced in Westminster to unilaterally remove some of those trading rules but that has caused friction and the EU has threatened the UK with legal action for doing so.
However, Ms von der Leyen suggested to the Irish parliament on Thursday EU-UK relations under Mr Sunak had improved compared with his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
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She said talks with London on Thursday were marked by a “new, more pragmatic spirit because the European Union and the United Kingdom are still members of the same extended family, even if we no longer live in the same house”.
“My contacts (with) Prime Minister Sunak are encouraging and I trust we can find the way,” she said.
“If there is the political will in the UK, I am very confident that we can reach a positive conclusion.”
Read more: Sunak and von der Leyen promise to ‘work together’ to solve NI Protocol row
The Commission president promised that whenever the EU sits down “with our British friends” it will do so with “‘an honest heart and an open mind’ – to quote the great Irish band The Saw Doctors”.
She said she believes applying common sense and a focus on issues “that really matter in Northern Ireland” will mean progress can be made in resolving the practical issues Northern Ireland is experiencing.
And she said the EU was “listening closely” to Northern Ireland businesses and civil society.
“But the consequences of Brexit and the kind of Brexit chosen by the UK cannot be removed entirely,” Ms von der Leyen warned.
“The solutions we find must ensure that the single market continues to function in Ireland and elsewhere in the European Union.
“I think if both sides are sensitive to this careful balance, a workable solution is within reach. I believe we have a duty to find it.
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“Let me reassure you, Ireland can always count on the European Union to stand by the Good Friday Agreement.
“There can be no hard border on the island of Ireland.”
Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney added that he believes a “solution is within our grasp”.
