BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) – European Union diplomatic sources and officials said there was virtually no progress in UK trade talks on Monday and some said the sides might have actually moved further apart on sealing a new agreement.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement on Monday that sealing a new trade deal was impossible now “due to remaining differences on critical issues”.
“We asked our chief negotiators to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in person in the coming days,” they said.
In a further development , British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will go to Brussels in coming days in an attempt to bridge significant differences in Brexit talks over level playing field, governance and fisheries.
“We agreed that the conditions for finalising an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries,” Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“We asked our Chief Negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days.”
Earlier it was announced that the phone call between EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, paused for a break, and was not to be resumed and there is no second call planned, an official said on Monday.
