PRIME Minister Boris Johnson is to hold talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to take stock of negotiations on a post-Brexit free trade deal, Downing Street has said.
The two leaders will speak today to discuss the “next steps” following the conclusion of the final formal round of talks in Brussels.
The chief negotiators Michel Barnier and Lord Frost were meeting yesterday in the Belgian capital at the end of a week of talks.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister will be speaking to president von der Leyen tomorrow afternoon to take stock of negotiations and discuss next steps.”
Both sides have acknowledged that time is running out if they are to achieve an agreement before the current Brexit transition period comes to an end in December.
READ MORE: EU begins legal action over UK Government’s international law breaking
But Johnson has said that he is prepared to walk away from the negotiations if there is still no agreement by the time of the next EU summit on October 15.
There was no further immediate detail about what Johnson and von der Leyen will be discussing.
However, the announcement will prompt speculation that they will consider whether sufficient progress had been made for them to authorise a final intensive round of talks – known as “the tunnel” – in an attempt to get a breakthrough.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said that there were still some “very significant issues” which needed to be resolved if the UK and EU were to get an agreement.
“There isn’t very much time now so we are urging the EU to show flexibility and pragmatism in these final stages of the talks,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“We hope that we can move swiftly now to reach the kind of sensible trading that we would like to see along the lines of Canada.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel