Brexit: ‘Significant gaps’ remain in trade negotiations after Boris Johnson talks with EU chief

Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have agreed that “significant gaps remain” in negotiations on a UK/EU trade deal, after direct phone discussions between the pair this afternoon.

The pair said in a joint statement that they would instruct their chief negotiators David Frost and Michel Barnier to “work intensively” to bridge remaining differences on fisheries, governance and the level playing field on standards demanded by Brussels.

But the failure to make a breakthrough after what was scheduled to be the final round of talks last week has put Mr Johnson’s self-imposed 15 October deadline for agreement at risk, raising the spectre of a no-deal Brexit on 31 December.

The joint statement said: “The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, spoke today about the state of play in the negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

“They agreed on the importance of finding an agreement, if at all possible, as a strong basis for a strategic EU-UK relationship in future.

“They endorsed the assessment of both chief negotiators that progress had been made in recent weeks but that significant gaps remained, notably but not only in the areas of fisheries, the level playing field, and governance.

“They instructed their chief negotiators to work intensively in order to try to bridge those gaps.

“They agreed to speak on a regular basis on this issue.”

In a tweet, Ms von der Leyen said she had had a “good phone call” with the prime minister.

And she added: “While progress had been made, significant gaps remain. We agreed that it's important to find an agreement as strong basis for a strategic relationship.”