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Talks between the UK and the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal are in the “final phase,” an EU official told Sky News.
With both sides trying to reach an agreement before the end of the transition period next week, sources in London and Brussels have told Sky News that a Brexi the deal could be close.
Sky Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates said: “Michel Barnier and David Frost [the chief negotiators] They are locked in a room in Brussels.
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EU Barnier in ‘final push’ to agree Brexit deal
“It appears that they have reached a political agreement on how they want to handle the key issues of Brexit, but it is becoming legal text.
“That is an optimistic sign, it suggests that the final process of this is near.
“But it does not mean that it is a deal made by any stretch of the imagination. Number 10 is emphasizing that negotiations can collapse completely.”
There were suggestions that an announcement could be made as early as tonight, but that deadline seems to be passing.
Sky correspondent in Europe Michelle Clifford said there was a “sense of optimism” in Brussels, with an EU official telling her: “We are now in the final phase.”
She said: “There is still no confirmation of that agreement, there are still disputes, we understand, about fishing and other issues.
“But it is the most optimistic thing that we have heard sounding this side of the Channel for a long time, in fact, never.”
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The UK will not ‘prosper mightily’ without any deal
Both sides had set a deadline in mid-October to reach a trade deal, with the expectation that it would take time later for the final version to be examined and voted on.
Parliament needs to ratify an agreement if an agreement is reached, but it has already been broken by Christmas.
However, Sky News has been told that the MPs could be removed on December 30 to approve any last minute deals.
A senior EU diplomat previously told the Reuters news agency that member states should approve the provisional application of a deal because there is not enough time for the EU Parliament to ratify the deal.
The European Research Group of conservative pro-Brexit MPs, a group the prime minister will want to keep, has said it will examine any deal in detail and deliver its verdict before Parliament meets again.
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European fishermen will not accept a no-deal Brexit
He said in a statement that he would reconvene his so-called “star chamber” of legal experts to study carefully the terms of any agreement.
Britain left the EU in late January and entered an 11-month transition period, following EU rules and regulations while trying to negotiate a free trade deal by the end of this year.
However, during the negotiations several sticking points have emerged.
These include fishing rights and the so-called “level playing field” – measures to prevent what is considered unfair competition by lowering standards or using state subsidies.
Boris Johnson has acknowledged that a no-deal Brexit “may be difficult at first”, but has argued that the UK “would prosper enormously” in such a scenario if it happens.
But opponents say that leaving without a deal and consequently having to negotiate under the terms of the World Trade Organization as of January 1 would cause problems for businesses and raise prices for consumers.
