BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and the United Kingdom are entering into fresh talks after a meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar raised hopes a Brexit breakthrough might be looming.

Johnson's Brexit envoy, Stephen Barclay, drove into EU headquarters for a Friday breakfast meeting with Michel Barnier at which he is expected to brief the EU negotiator on what, if any, fundamental breakthrough has been made.

Johnson said that there was a "pathway" to a belated deal to stave off a chaotic and costly no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, while Varadkar said the meeting was "very positive."

The main stumbling block remains how the U.K.'s only land border, between Britain and Ireland, is dealt with.