Thread by @AlbertoNardelli

NEW: This is where I understand the Brexit talks, and details of the agreement under discussion, to be at:

1) Northern Ireland would be part of the UK's customs territory, however it would follow EU customs rules (ie no customs border on the island of Ireland).

2) Goods that carry no risk (for example the personal goods of someone moving to Northern Ireland from Britain + list of goods that will be covered by criteria set by the joint committee) will be exempt.

3) There will be a rebate mechanism. This will have to adhere to state aid rules.

4) The Northern Ireland text fundamentally builds on Feb. 2018 text (ie the Northern Ireland only backstop), reconciling it with UK requests

5) Main parts of the rest of the withdrawal agreement (citizens' rights, UK financial commitments and transition) fundamentally unchanged from current agreement

6) As mentioned earlier (and as reported by @tconnellyRTE), VAT is still the main open issue: UK has asked for Northern Ireland to not be subject to the EU's VAT regime, which is problematic for the EU.

@tconnellyRTE 7) On consent there will be a reference in the agreement to the mechanism + a unilateral UK declaration

@tconnellyRTE The mechanism would work as follows:

- after four years, Stormont decides by simple majority whether to maintain the arrangements for four more years. If vote is affirmative, after four more years there would be another vote if this has cross-community support

@tconnellyRTE - if the vote is against the arrangements, there would be a two year cooling off period

- if Stormont is not in a position to vote, the arrangements stay

@tconnellyRTE 8) On the political declaration, UK has asked for a specific reference to a future relationship based on an FTA with zero quotas and tariffs + no references to a customs union.

@tconnellyRTE 9) On level playing field provisions, which have proven to be another stumbling block, EU made clear LPF guarantees have to be stronger than in most FTAs because of geography. Agreement requires appropriate implementation mechanisms and a framework for fair future competition.

@tconnellyRTE 10) This is what happens tomorrow if there an agreement in time:

- EUCO conclusions to endorse agreement and call for its ratification. UK expected to have a Commons vote on Saturday. EU27 ambassadors could meet again, and agreement then goes to the European Parliament

@tconnellyRTE - The EUCO summit is expected to kick off with a short intervention by PM Johnson, and that will be followed by a discussion at 27