Katy Balls Katy Balls

Johnson turns up pressure on EU for a deal

Boris Johnson greets European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Downing Street (Getty images)

Hopes of agreeing a Brexit deal have increased among ministers in recent weeks, but today the UK’s chief negotiator Sir David Frost offered a reality check. In a statement following the latest round of talks, Frost said that while ‘progress has been possible’ there remained ‘familiar differences’ on level playing field clauses, state aid and – notably – fishing. On the EU side, Michel Barnier said that to reach an agreement ‘these divergences must necessarily be overcome over the next weeks’.

The comments come as Boris Johnson attempted to dial up the pressure on the EU in a regional media round. He said it’s ‘up to our friends and partners’ in the EU to avoid a no-deal scenario at the end of the Brexit transition period:

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