Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, has said that even if a trade agreement is reached by the deadline, it will not resolve all Brexit issues.

“If we can get a future trade agreement that means we have a trade agreement that avoids tariffs and quotas, which means we can trade across the Irish sea without any tariffs,” he told Ireland’s Newstalk radio.

He added: “There is going to be some disruption because there is going to have to be sanitary checks on products. This isn’t just about tariffs and quotas, it’s also about aviation access, road haulage access, data access and judicial co-operation.

“Many of the things we take for granted today because we are a member of the EU, and the UK has been as well, can no longer be taken for granted. All of these areas need separate agreements.

“What we have at the moment is about 95 per cent of the text agreed on a future trade relationship that deals with all of these areas, the remaining 5 per cent that is not agreed is linked to fair competition (and other areas).”

Despite hopes that Boris Johnson’s trip to Brussels can bring talks out of the “very difficult” phase they are currently in, Ireland’s foreign minister has said there is a “distinct possibility” a deal will not be reached – and he has warned that this will have dire consequences for Ireland. 

Simon Coveney spoke to Newstalk radio about the effect no deal would have on Irish beef, saying “trade [would] probably continue in the short-term because supermarket shelves have to be filled and there are no alternatives to Irish beef in the UK in some cases”.

But, he said, “in the medium term if Irish beef is priced in a way that is linked to significant tariffs, I think the UK will over time find cheaper sources of beef from other parts of the world”.

“That would be hugely disruptive across the EU,” he said. 

Mr Coveney also warned people not to get their “hopes too high” about the meeting between the PM and the EU Commission president this evening. 

“I think it’s important to say… don’t get your hopes too high here,” he told Newstalk, before adding: “This is something that can be resolved with the right approach from both sides this evening. But the inability to resolve it to date means failure is a distinct possibility.”

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a prominent Brexiteer, said he trusts Boris Johnson to stick to his position on protecting UK sovereignty. 

“I completely trust him in the sense that here is the man who wrote the manifesto, and the manifesto was clear that the sovereign right of the United Kingdom to make trade deals and, where necessary, to diverge from EU regulations is in the hands of the UK government,” he told BBCR4’s Today.

Meanwhile, Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash has weighed in to warn the prime minister that he – along with other pro-Brexit pundits – will be “watching” with “great diligence” to see what is proposed at tonight’s last-ditch dinner between Mr Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen.

Before Boris Johnson heads to Brussels, there is a lot going on in Westminster. Here’s Wednesday’s schedule:

11am: An adviser to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, Martin Forde QC, will give evidence to the Home Affairs Committee.

12pm: PMQs, which will be virtual again – this time for Sir Keir Starmer who is self-isolating following one of his staffers contracting Covid.

12:15pm: Scotland and Wales to hold their weekly Covid press briefings.

12:30pm: Statement from Michael Gove on the Withdrawal Agreement, after “significant” progress made yesterday.

2:30pm: Statement from Martin Lewis, of the Treasury committee, on the economic effects of coronavirus.

Also 2:30pm: Women and Equalities committee hears evidence on reform of the Gender Recognition Act.

2:45pm: Taxation Bill debate begins.

The government has begun advertising for a new job: a UK trade commissioner to the European Union, to be based in Milan.

It has been critiqued on social media, as the lengthy job description fails to disclose why only UK nationals can apply when it is based in an EU member state.

One man borrowed words from the job advert to disparage the move, saying: “Because, you know, now’s the time ‘to help grow key economic and commercial relationships between the UK and key stakeholders across the continent by establishing relationships of trust’ #Brexit”.

Another wondered why the posting contained “no mention of the immigration requirements or whether it is a diplomatic posting”.

The advertisement describes the role as “a high-profile, exciting and critical post”, saying: “HM Trade Commissioner for Europe will be responsible for all DIT activity in this diverse and complex region, leading a team of over 300 in 33 countries covering 47 markets.”

Detailing “the ideal individual”, the government says it is looking for someone who has “an understanding of the Europe political and economic context”. 

It continues that the chosen person “will be able to demonstrate … a structured and sensitive approach to communication within a complex and diverse environment”, apparently unaware of the ironic choice of words.

In an apparent U-turn on previous allegations made about the future of the European Health Insurance Card, Michael Gove has said that “for a period there will be appropriate access” to free medical treatment in the EU once Brexit has gone through. 

While the minister did not elaborate further while speaking on the Today programme, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, is working to find out more as quickly as possible.

You can see a message from Simon about this below – it includes a link to his trusty guide about travel to the EU in 2021:

Returning to Michael Gove’s BBC Radio 4 interview, the minister told the Today show that Brussels’ customs officials would be allowed into Northern Ireland as part of the new UK-EU joint committee agreement this week – and that Boris Johnson had not broken his promise that there would be no checks or paperwork.

Mr Gove said: “It was always in the protocol – part of the Withdrawal Agreement that the House of Commons voted for and which passed into law and allowed us to leave the European Union – that we would facilitate our friends in Europe being reassured that the processes which the UK would control were compliant.”

Asked whether the prime minister was wrong to declare during last year’s election campaign that there would be no forms or checks for goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr Gove said: “No, he wasn’t.”

He continued: “There are two things to mention. The first thing, about the presence of people from another country, is that it is a natural part of trade that you have officials from another country visiting their trade partner in order to reassure themselves of the processes in place.

“Again, there are no checks on goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.”

Mr Gove finished the conversation by saying he believes that “the political realities” which the PM “will share with Ursula von der Leyen tonight give us the best chance of reaching a deal”.

Boris Johnson will “lay out where movement is required” to rescue a Brexit deal at his showdown Brussels meeting, Michael Gove says – making clear the onus is on the EU to compromise.

The prime minister will supposedly insist its demands are unacceptable and “need to be tempered” if a hugely-damaging no deal exit – in just 22 days’ time – is to be avoided.

No deal fears will no doubt be raised after the comments by the minister, says our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick:

More from Michael Gove’s interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today show as the cabinet minister signals there could be a compromise on a transition arrangement on fishing rights, but remains firm that the UK can not back down from being an “independent coastal state”.

He told Today: “I think there can be scope for compromise but the compromise exists on the way in which European boats can continue to access UK waters.

“But what is not up for compromise is the principle that the UK will be an independent coastal state and it will be a matter for negotiation between the UK and the EU, with the UK in control of our waters.

“I think we can be very generous with that, I think we can reach arrangements with European countries that allow a staged process so there can be a degree of certainty so that they can manage that change.”

Asked how long a transition period could last, Mr Gove said he was “not in the negotiating room at the moment” to be able to give any indication.

Michael Gove has done a whistle stop tour of British radio and TV shows this morning, after reaching an agreement with Maroš Šefčovič over the Northern Ireland Protocol on Tuesday, to warn that an overarching Brexit trade deal remains “very difficult” without movement from the EU.

Asked for a percentage of how optimistic he was, Mr Gove told Times Radio on Wednesday morning that instead of figures he would instead be “hoping that on the EU side we get the movement that we need in order to seal the deal that I know that we want to”.

He added: “Unless we see some movement on the EU side, then it will be very difficult.”

Mr Gove then appeared on BBC Breakfast, where he said he hoped Boris Johnson’s dinner with Ursula von der Leyen would create “further political momentum” after he reached an agreement on border checks and trading rules for Northern Ireland with his counterpart on the UK-EU joint committee on Wednesday.

“I’m hopeful that the prime minister will be able to lay out, over the course of dinner, where movement is required,” he said.

“The conversation between the PM and the president tonight, I hope, will create further political momentum, which will make sure that we do reach an agreement.”

And on BBC Radio 4’s Today show, Mr Gove said the UK wanted a non-regression agreement as part of level-playing field stipulations in a trade deal with the EU.

He told Today’s Martha Kearney and Justin Webb: “The issue of particular contention is that last week the EU negotiators didn’t simply want an arrangement whereby we pledge what we call non-regression – which is common in most trade treaties, which means you maintain the standards at the point of entry – they actually wanted an arrangement that meant if the EU adopted new laws, that the UK would have to (follow them) or the EU would retaliate.

“We can accept the non-regression principles, which are common to free trade agreements, which indeed Canada entered into and that’s the point we’ve always made – we want an arrangement similar to the one Canada has with the European Union.”