Published 04:57 IST, October 4th 2020
Brexit talks extended for a month following Johnson and EU leader Von der Leyen's meeting
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have reportedly agreed to extend the Brexit negotiations for a month.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to extend the Brexit negotiations for another month. As per The Guardian reports, both leaders took note of the progress that has already been made in the roundtable talks and found justification in the last push to reach a post-Brexit deal on trade and security. European Union (EU) chief negotiator Michel Barnier will reportedly travel to London this week for talks with UK counterpart David Frost. Both sides will hold follow-up talks in Brussels, the week after.
The fresh rounds of negotiations for a Brexit deal were agreed on a phone call between Johnson and Von der Leyen on Saturday, October 3 (local time). The media outlet cited its EU sources saying that the conversation was “not a game-changer” but at the same time, they were not “unhelpful”. Both UK and the EU expressed their willingness to find “landing zones” on the most crucial aspects of the agreement.
UK PM optimistic about Brexit deal
Meanwhile, Johnson has said that he is “pretty optimistic” that a successful Brexit deal could be reached. As the UK negotiates a rudimentary free trade agreement with the European Union, Johnson opined that the prospects of the deal were good, if people used “common sense”. His remarks had come just before the October 3 talks with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to determine the next step in fraught negotiations.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the British leader said that the prospects of a year-end deal to avoid an abrupt Brexit separation were good if everybody “just exercised some common sense” and looked at the deal that is there to be done. Both sides have acknowledged that time is running out if they are to achieve an agreement before the current Brexit transition period comes to an end, which is in December. However, Johnson has also asserted that he was prepared to walk away from the negotiations if there was no agreement by the time of the next EU summit on October 15.
Updated 04:57 IST, October 4th 2020