Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have said they have agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by their negotiating teams to assess whether they can resolve their remaining differences on a post-Brexit trade deal.
Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have said they have agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by their negotiating teams to assess whether they can resolve their remaining differences on a post-Brexit trade deal. With time for an agreement rapidly running out, the two sides’ chief negotiators announced on Friday they were putting the talks on “pause” to allow political leaders to take stock. But this evening, Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement following their phone call that they were instructing their chief negotiators to meet again in Brussels on Sunday. The statement said: “In a phone call today on the on-going negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, we welcomed the fact that progress has been achieved in many areas. “Nevertheless, significant differences remain on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries. Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved. “Whilst recognising the seriousness of these differences, we agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by our negotiating teams to assess whether they can be resolved. “We are therefore instructing our chief negotiators to reconvene tomorrow in Brussels. “We will speak again on Monday evening.
