The European Union and Britain will return to the negotiating table on Monday after agreeing to abandon a supposed make-or-break deadline for a post-Brexit trade pact.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said last week they would decide whether an agreement was possible by the end of Sunday, but agreed in a crisis call to “go the extra mile”.
They did not offer a new deadline but Conservative Party lawmaker Mark Harper suggested the extended talks could go right to the wire, with less than three weeks until Britain leaves the single market at the end of the month.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier and Britain’s David Frost held talks late on Saturday and early on Sunday.
They have been alternating between the capitals but a European official said that, for the moment, they would remain in Brussels.
EU Council spokesman Sebastian Fischer said Barnier will brief European ambassadors on Monday morning about the current state of negotiations