EU, UK set deadline for post-Brexit trade deal

London, Dec 10 : The European Union (EU) and Britain will come to a decision on a post-Brexit trade deal by the end of the coming weekend, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has tweeted after meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels.
“We had a lively and interesting discussion on the state of play on outstanding issues,” von der Leyen said, underlining that the positions of both sides remain “far apart.” She urged EU and UK negotiating teams to immediately reconvene to try to bridge divergences, Xinhua reported.
The emergency meeting between Johnson and von der Leyen to seek a post-Brexit trade deal has ended without breakthrough as “very large gaps remain” between the two sides, British media reported late Wednesday.
“A frank discussion” was held about the “significant obstacles” that remain in the talks and “it is still unclear whether these can be bridged,” Sky News quoted a Downing Street source as saying.
Johnson and von der Leyen have agreed that their negotiating teams will continue discussions over the coming days and the prime minister “does not want to leave any route to a possible deal untested,” said the report.