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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Chief Executive Ursula von der Leyen agreed in a phone call to intensify Brexit talks to close “significant gaps” preventing a new trade partnership.
The two sides have said that this week’s round of talks aimed at striking a new post-Brexit trade deal starting in 2021 made some progress, but not much progress.
The EU says a deal should be sealed before the end of the month to allow enough time for ratification by the end of this year.
Mr. Johnson and Ms. Von der Leyen discussed the next steps in their call today.
“They agreed on the importance of finding an agreement, if possible, as a solid basis for a strategic EU-UK relationship in the future,” they said in a joint statement.
“Progress has been made in recent weeks, but … significant gaps persist, particularly, but not only in the areas of fisheries, level playing field and governance,” he added.
The two leaders instructed their Brexit negotiators, Michel Barnier and David Frost, “to work hard to try to bridge those gaps.”
More trade talks are expected in London next week and in Brussels the following week before the 27 EU national leaders meet on October 15-16 to assess progress.
An annual trade estimated at a trillion euros would be at stake if they do not reach an agreement.
The EU says it will not implement any new deals if Britain undermines its previous Brexit divorce treaty with its internal market bill.
Good phone call with @BorisJohnson on the status of negotiations 🇪🇺-🇬🇧.
While progress has been made, significant gaps remain. We agreed that it is important to find an agreement as a solid basis for a strategic relationship.
Joint declaration → https://t.co/Tl3jdRIZqB pic.twitter.com/rUTSp8l9dP– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 3, 2020
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