EU sees ‘narrow path’ to Brexit deal in coming days

The EU and U.K. are making progress on the thorniest issues in their future relationship talks, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told the bloc’s ambassadors on Monday, raising cautious optimism that a deal might be possible in the coming days.

“There might now be a narrow path to an agreement visible — if negotiators can clear the remaining hurdles in the next few days,” an EU diplomat said following Barnier’s briefing.

The diplomat added that “some progress” has been made in recent days, but stressed that there are still “sometimes substantial” gaps remaining on the three key sticking points in the negotiations: fisheries, governance and the so-called level playing field, dictating how closely the U.K. retains EU laws covering areas like labor, environmental and competition standards.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed Sunday in a phone call that negotiators should “go the extra mile” to try to reach an agreement in the coming days.

According to another EU diplomat, Barnier said that good progress has been made in the area of governance, which involves issues such as a dispute settlement mechanism in case one of the two sides violates the rules of the deal.

Significantly, according to that diplomat, the U.K. side also moved on level playing field — but demands that the EU makes concessions in return. A deal could be possible in the coming days if there is a compromise on fishing, Barnier said, but warned that every hour that passes is complicating the ratification process by parliaments on both sides, according to the diplomat.

After the meeting, Barnier wrote in a tweet that “the next few days are important” in deciding whether a deal can be in place by January 1. “Fair competition, and a sustainable solution for our fishermen and women, are key to reaching a deal,” the chief negotiator wrote.

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