Another episode of the post-Brexit trade talks will take place in London this week.

Another round of post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and the UK will take place in London this week.

In a joint statement of principles released today, the two sides agreed that the next round of negotiations will be based on each party’s legal texts.

The statement also said work to find an agreement would be accelerated:

The leading negotiators in each of the lines of work must advance as quickly as possible to read both texts, with a view to identifying areas of convergence, which could be expressed in a two / three column table or in consolidated texts depending on which tool they are used. Principal negotiators consider more appropriate.

On September 7, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had given trade talks until the EU summit, held last Thursday and Friday, for both sides to reach an agreement. If no deal has been reached, the UK’s efforts should focus on preparing for a no-deal scenario, he said.

A Johnson spokesman said today: “It is clear that significant gaps remain between our positions in the most difficult areas, but we are ready, with the EU, to see if they can be bridged in intensive talks.”

The European Union has set the end of this month as the deadline for trade negotiations, which is based on the time needed to ratify any trade deal agreed in the EU and UK parliaments before the end of the transition period on December 31st.

Yesterday, EU negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted “our door remains open” after a call with UK negotiator David Frost.