A Downing Street source has claimed it “possible but far from certain” that a post-Brexit trade deal could be agreed with Brussels.
A Cabinet minister speaking today indicated that hopes are rising for securing an agreement although major differences still remain between the UK and the EU.
Negotiators are continuing to talk in Brussels while Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are in close contact to try to resolve remaining difficulties.
READ MORE: Brexit Bill passes Holyrood to allow Scotland to ‘keep pace’ with EU law
Both sides are trying to secure a deal before the current EU withdrawal transition period ends on December 31.
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said he is “reasonably optimistic” that a late deal will be agreed before the current trading arrangements expire at the end of the month.
Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen are in close contact (Aaron Chown/PA)
Mr Johnson has previously said that the most likely outcome is failure to reach a deal, with the UK then relying on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms – meaning tariffs and quotas on trade with the EU.
Mr Jenrick told Sky News that “serious areas of disagreement” remain on fishing and the “level playing field” measures aimed at preventing unfair competition on standards and state subsidies.
“We are working through those issues, our negotiators will keep going – the Prime Minister has been very clear that he is going to negotiate until the very end, which is December 31, because that is the right thing, it is what the British public would expect.
“But at the moment there isn’t sufficient progress, it isn’t a deal that the Prime Minister feels he can sign us up to because it doesn’t yet respect us, in full, as a sovereign, independent nation.”
France warned that the EU would not be pressed into agreeing a deal just because of the looming deadline.
French Europe minister Clement Beaune said a no-deal situation would be “catastrophic” for the UK and suggested the EU should hold out.
READ MORE: Brexit: Optimism rises that Brexit trade deal can be reached with European Union
“We should not put ourselves, Europeans, under time pressure to finish by this hour or that day. Otherwise we would put ourselves in a situation to make bad concessions.”
Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin raised the prospect of officials working on the text of a Brexit deal on Christmas Day if a breakthrough comes before then.
The Taoiseach said he and other EU leaders were on stand-by to endorse any agreement that might emerge from negotiations between Brussels and the UK Government.
On Tuesday, the EU’s lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, said they were making a “final push” to reach a deal and it was a “crucial moment”.
Michel Barnier (Victoria Jones/PA)
Earlier, the European Parliament’s former Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said the queues of lorries in Kent are a sign of things to come.
In a tweet, Mr Verhofstadt said: “We forgot what borders look like. Some thought they would remain open with or without the EU. They will now start to understand what leaving the EU really means.”
Asked whether there is a link between French President Emmanuel Macron’s action to shut the border with France and the Brexit negotiations, Mr Jenrick said: “I hope not.”
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