She’s the British official who’s good at knocking bankers’ heads together. He’s the twinkly-eyed Irishman who’s an old hand at navigating the twists and turns of EU policymaking.

Since Brexit they’ve not had much to do with each other. 

But maybe — just maybe — an old flame is rekindling. 

We’ll find out if there’s any chemistry on Wednesday. That’s when the U.K.’s Gwyneth Nurse and the EU’s John Berrigan discuss potential financial services cooperation. It’ll be only the second time the two sides have talked about the massively important sector since Britain’s departure from the bloc in January 2020.

Nobody needs reminding that the divorce caused quite a bit of bad blood — but Nurse and Berrigan are determined to help Brussels and London get it on.

And there’s wider significance. Given the importance of financial services to London and Brussels, it could even spell a broader thawing in post-Brexit relations — particularly as polls put the more EU-friendly Labour Party most likely to form a government after an election that must be before the end of January.

Vibe shift

Britain left the bloc without a deal covering financial services in 2020 and tensions over Northern Ireland left the relationship between the two sides at a tense stand-off for years.

Trust hit a low. But things have been hotting up since the U.K. and EU resolved problems on the Northern Ireland border last year. And that’s helped lift the mood on financial services, too.

Now, it’s up to Nurse and Berrigan to add to the vibe shift, according to diplomats, officials and lobbyists on both sides of the English Channel, who were granted anonymity to speak to POLITICO because of the sensitive nature of the discussions....

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