UPDATED: Britain, EU agree to go ‘extra mile’ and press ahead with trade talks

Britain and the European Union agreed on Sunday to “go the extra mile” and continue talks on a post-Brexit trade deal.

“Our negotiating teams have been working day and night over recent days. And despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement.

“We have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached.” 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that everything should be done to reach a trade deal between the European Union and Britain.

“Every opportunity to reach a deal is highly welcome,” she said at a news conference in Berlin. 

European Council President Charles Michel welcomed the decision of Britain and the European Union to continue with negotiations on a Brexit trade deal.

Michel, who chairs European Union summits, told France Inter Radio: “We must do all we can for a deal to be made possible. We must support a good deal.” 

A joint statement by Britain and the European Union that trade talks will continue is a good signal, Ireland’s foreign minister said on Sunday, describing a post-Brexit trade deal as clearly very difficult, but possible.

“Time to hold our nerve and allow the negotiators to inch progress forward – even at this late stage. Joint statement on Brexit negotiations is a good signal. A deal clearly very difficult, but possible,” Simon Coveney said on Twitt

Main Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a press conference following a phone call meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, 13 December 2020. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET / POOL