The continued movement of animals across the Irish border is the biggest challenge for the EU.

Officials believe that measures can be taken to track ordinary goods brought into the Republic from Northern Ireland to help avoid a tight border. The EU is considering a version of “max fac” that the governments of Ireland and the EU once ridiculed as “magical thinking.” The max fac system includes the use of technology to electronically track goods belonging to “trusted traders” crossing the border .

However, this will not resolve the issue of how to control livestock and food products moving between the two jurisdictions. The economy of the whole island is heavily dependent on the ability of farmers to transport animals and products, including milk, without interruption.

However, the only way to avoid some form of border control for the agri-food sector would be if Northern Ireland continued to operate in accordance with EU rules.

“Customs is the only area in which the maximum factor can work, but the big problem is animals. Agriculture is the hardest part, and at the moment there is no solution, except in the opposite direction, ”said a source familiar with preparing for Brexit without a Brussels deal. The Irish Farmers Association claims that thousands of animals and huge volumes of agricultural products worth more than 2 billion euros move across the border for processing every year.