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EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said today that “good progress” is being made in the UK talks and the “latest hurdles” stand in the way of sealing a new trade pact.
“Good progress, but the last obstacles remain. We will only sign an agreement that protects the interests and principles of the EU,” Barnier said on Twitter, adding that it was the “final stretch of talks” with Britain.
Earlier, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said the UK will work hard for a Brexit trade deal and the two sides are in “tunnel” negotiations.
If an agreement with the European Union is not possible, then the country will be prepared, he added.
“First of all, the prime minister and the government, we have all been very clear that we are not going to leave, we will continue to negotiate to achieve this free trade agreement,” Ms Patel told LBC radio.
“We are in that negotiation tunnel and our teams continue to work incredibly hard.”
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The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said yesterday that the two sides had come close to closing a trade agreement.
“I cannot tell you whether there will be an agreement or not. But I can tell you that there is now a path to an agreement. The path may be very narrow, but it is there,” Ms Von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
Britain formally left the EU on January 31, but has been in a transition period since then under which rules on trade, travel and business remain unchanged.
It finally leaves the single market and the bloc’s customs union on December 31.
Failure to reach an agreement would raise trade barriers between the EU and Britain.
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