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Trade talks on Brexit between the UK and the EU were suspended after the two sides said “the conditions for a deal are not met.”
The bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said he and Downing Street’s David Frost agreed to “pause” talks on a deal while briefing their directors on the status of the negotiations.
In a joint statement, Lord Frost and Barnier said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Boris Johnson would “discuss the situation” on Saturday afternoon.
They blamed “significant divergences on a level playing field, governance and fisheries” for the hiatus.
It comes after a week of intense negotiations in London, with late-night sessions fueled by sandwich and pizza deliveries.
There were conflicting reports on how the talks were progressing, with some EU officials saying a deal was near and British officials warning that the talks were in a “difficult phase”.
Britain formally left the 27-nation bloc in late January, but it had been in a transition period since then, and the rules on trade, travel and business remained unchanged.
But from the beginning of next year, the EU will treat it as a third country, with tariffs and trade barriers that will bring great disruption to both parties.
Britain conducts almost half of its trade with the EU, so it has the most to lose in such a situation, however.
Any deal must be approved by politicians in Britain and the EU before the end of the year for it to take effect on January 1.
European Council President Charles Michel said: “We will see what will happen in the next few days.
“But the end of December is the end of December and we know that after December 31 we have January 1, and we know we need to be clear as soon as possible.”
