LORRIES queued for miles along the M20 this morning as firms rushed to stockpile goods, fearing a potential No-Deal Brexit with less than two weeks until the end of the transition period.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said there are “just a few hours” remaining to reach a deal with the UK, while the possibility of a breakthrough is “very narrow”.
With the deadline looming Sky News shared footage of lorries lining the road leading to the Eurotunnel in Folkestone.
Barnier’s warning this morning comes after Boris Johnson told European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that the EU must “significantly” shift its stance on fishing for an agreement to be reached.
The EU set the latest deadline that an agreement must be ready by Sunday night in order to have enough time for MEPs to ratify it, while the House of Commons has been warned it may need to hastily return from Christmas recess to vote on a deal.
“It’s the moment of truth,” Barnier told the European Parliament in Brussels.
“We have very little time remaining, just a few hours, to work through these negotiations in useful fashion if we want this agreement to enter into force on January 1.
“There is a chance of getting an agreement but the path to such an agreement is very narrow.”
He said he was being “frank with you and open and sincere” when he said that he was unable to say what the result will be from the “last home straight of negotiations”.
The Prime Minister and von der Leyen took stock of negotiations in a call last night.
The EU chief acknowledged “big differences” remained between the two sides and stressed that “bridging them will be very challenging”.
Johnson tweeted after the call to say he told von der Leyen that “time is short and the EU position needed to change substantially”.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister warned it looked “very likely” a deal would not be agreed unless the bloc shifted its stance.
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