The UK knows it has 'not won outright' when it comes to the Brexit trade deal, according to EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.
Ireland's commissioner said both sides needed to make concessions to reach a 'bare minimum' deal, and Europe has never claimed a win either.
With the Brexit deadline set for the start of 2021, EU and UK negotiators finally reached a deal on Christmas Eve.
Mrs McGuinness told The Pat Kenny Show it was a 'very strange' start to the festive season.
She said: "We had to all connect from our kitchens or wherever we were to hear… Ursula von der Leyen and Michel Barnier to give details.
“What’s particularly strange now is that Brexit normally would be the big headline topic, had COVID not happened… but nobody’s talking about Breixt now, as everyone’s very alarmed - rightly so - about COVID."
She said there are no reports so far of significant delays at ports as a result of the new Brexit checks.
She noted that was expected as many companies had stockpiled supplies - on top of the usual lull in trade over Christmas.
However, she observed: “I think there was an expectation that the complexity of the deal and the requirements for checks… that there will be some delays.
“I think there will be teething problems.
"There’s also the reality from an Irish perspective that a lot of companies are looking at trying to bypass the UK land bridge because of concerns about delays."
'Brexit is not done'
The financial services commissioner said the deal is not the end of Brexit, with many of the agreed measures - such as around fishing - only coming into effect over time.
She said: “Brexit is not done... and to some extent we will never be done with Brexit, because of all the review clauses, the transitional arrangements, the further negotiations on a whole range of issues including fish."
In terms of whether there was a 'winner or loser' in the negotiations, she said it's important to be 'the adult in the room' and the main feeling in Europe was relief above all else.
She said: “I think Boris Johnson… wanted to be able to tell a story, and perhaps wanted to say ‘I won’ - but he didn’t use that language.
“This is the first time in history that a deal will be brokered that is less than the best.
“When statements are being made by the UK side and even by the UK media interpreting this as a big win… I think we need to balance that with the reality of what the text is saying.
“The UK has not won outright at all, and they know that."
Mrs McGuinness is confident of the stability of the EU, saying the countries have always found a way of working through the inevitable tensions and difficulties that arise.
When it comes to the UK, however, she believes the Brexit referendum came at the end of a "long and difficult relationship between the Conservative Party and the European Union" in particular.
