EU chiefs have given the green light to Brexit-reset trade talks with the UK in a boost for No10 just before the Budget.

Talks on reducing red-tape for food and drink imports – which have been contributing to stubbornly high food inflation in the UK – were set to be derailed by demands from France that Britain begins paying into EU funds immediately as the price for access to the single market.

But a coalition led by Germany the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg warned that pushing too far now could derail the reset before talks even begin. New Feature

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The decision by EU ambassadors breaks days of deadlocks – but reveals that the much vaunted Brexit reset is far from straightforward with the EU split over how much and when

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