Brexit talks get Sunday deadline, UK and EU remain ‘far apart’
- Dinner discussion between British PM Boris Johnson and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen fails to break deadlock
- Three major obstacles remain for a deal: disagreements over fishing rights, the governance of a deal, and fair competition rules for businesses
Brexit negotiators have until Sunday to come up with a deal after talks over dinner between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ended without a breakthrough.
The leaders agreed that talks should continue in the next few days despite major differences remaining between the UK and European Union over what their future trade relationship should look like. By December 13 a firm decision will need to be taken on the future of the negotiations, the two sides said.
Johnson’s team had hoped that a face-to-face meeting with von der Leyen would inject new political momentum into the process. But their discussion over a dinner of scallops and turbot in Brussels didn’t break the deadlock.
“We understand each other’s positions,” von der Leyen tweeted after the meeting. “They remain far apart. The teams should immediately reconvene to try to resolve these issues. We will come to a decision by the end of the weekend.”
Eight months of negotiations have so far failed to overcome the three biggest obstacles to a deal: disagreements over fishing rights, the governance of a deal, and fair competition rules for businesses.
If an accord isn’t reached by the end of the year, businesses and consumers will be hit by additional costs and disruption as tariffs and quotas are imposed on trade with the UK’s biggest and closest commercial partner.