velouté with scallops, followed by
filet of sea bass with a
barigoule of vegetables, and rounded off by a dessert of mascarpone,
eau de fraise, meringue and vanilla ice cream.
At the table were David Frost, the uncompromising lead UK minister on Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol, and Maroš Šefčovič, a former Slovak diplomat and his EU opposite number. They were joined by Marie Simonsen, a Danish official in the European Commission who has taken over as head of the UK task force, and her opposite number Rebecca Ellis.
Before the dinner, which lasted three hours, Mr Frost and Mr Šefčovič held a half hour meeting alone. Having already held a number of phone calls, their relationship had been improving following a rocky start. They agreed to restore the hotline set up by Mr Šefčovič and Michael Gove, Mr Frost s predecessor, to avoid any sudden crises.
Her chief negotiator Michel Barnier is due to step down from his role in the coming days and the Frenchman’s UK Task Force will be disbanded.
Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic will lead all future work on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The Slovak diplomat will be supported by a newly-formed UK service of experts brought in to work exclusively on post-Brexit talks with Britain.
Marie Simonsen and Stefan Fuehring will also join the new unit having previously worked on Mr Barnier’s UK Task Force.
A former aide to Jean-Claude Juncker will lead the EU s new UK service (Image: GETTY)