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A Brexit trade deal is imminent, multiple EU sources said, but they were unable to provide details on what secured it.
Earlier in the day, talks revolved around the EU’s access to UK fishing waters, with both sides still haggling over quotas, transition periods and the distance each side could fish in each other’s zones.
They had also been fighting over how, and in what sectors, the EU will be able to retaliate if it thinks the UK has lowered it on product standards, state aid or fisheries.
The negotiations escalated to the level of the leaders this week after the EU and UK teams exhausted all their options.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, spoke by phone more than once this week, including on Monday night to try to reach an agreement on the rights of fishing.
Diplomats were upbeat on Wednesday after nine months of intense talks, which have dragged on overnight and into the weekend for the past few months.
Many expected an announcement Wednesday night.
“After nine months of gestation, surely it is time for something to be delivered,” said an EU source.
EU officials were still discussing and drafting the final agreement on Wednesday, and the final text is likely to be more than 1,000 pages long.
There is not enough time left for the European Parliament to vote on the text before the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
“All things necessary for a proper political process are not possible at the moment,” said Martin Schirdewan, German MEP, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit coordination group. “Those who must make the political decision and give their consent do not even know the details.”
Online editors
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