Brexit: 'Large gaps' remain after trade talks with Ursula von der Leyen - BBC News
Sunday becomes the new deadline for a decision on trade talks, after the PM and EU chief meet in Brussels.
"Very large gaps remain" between the UK and EU, despite a meeting between Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen aimed at breaking the Brexit trade deadlock, No 10 has said.

And Mrs von der Leyen said the two sides were still "far apart".

Talks between the UK's chief negotiator Lord Frost and the EU's Michel Barnier will resume in Brussels.

But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was "unlikely" the negotiations would be extended beyond Sunday.

After their meeting, the prime minister and European Commission president "agreed that by Sunday a firm decision should be taken about the future of the talks", a No 10 spokesperson added.

And on Thursday morning, the EU set out the measures it would implement in the event of a no-deal scenario.

The plan includes allowing aviation safety certificates to continue to apply to avoid the grounding of aircraft.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said the evening discussions between Mr Johnson and Mrs von der Leyen had "plainly gone badly" and the chances of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year without a firm arrangement was a "big step closer".

Time is running out to reach a deal before 31 December, when the UK stops following EU trading rules.

Major disagreements remain on fishing rights, business competition rules and how a deal will be policed.

The dinner was seen as a last-ditch opportunity to work through the main sticking points and for the two sides to try and find some common ground.

If at first you don't succeed you can try and try. But eventually, sometimes failure is what follows.

That now seems the likely outcome of months of talks designed to create a smooth path for the country towards a different future - a deal that, in theory, would ease the junction from membership of a huge trading bloc to a world outside.

There is a chance still that a couple of frantic days could result in a change.

The prime minister could decide that after all, the potential disruption of no deal is just too great to risk.

The EU president might be able to persuade continental leaders to budge, as they gather in Brussels today.

But the chance of reassessing and refreshing the efforts seem now remote.

In a statement, the UK side said there had been "a frank discussion about the significant obstacles which remain in the negotiations".

"Very large gaps remain between the two sides and it is still unclear whether these can be bridged," a No 10 spokesperson said.

They said the two sides had agreed to further discussions over the next few days, and the PM did "not want to leave any route to a possible deal untested".

The two negotiators, Lord Frost and Mr Barnier, also attended the three-hour dinner meeting between the two leaders.

Mrs von der Leyen said the discussions had been "lively and interesting", and the two sides fully "understand each other's positions" but they "remain far apart".

"We will come to a decision by the end of the weekend," she said.

Meanwhile the UK has signed a free trade deal with Singapore. The agreement is broadly similar to the Southeast Asian country's current arrangement with the EU and will cover a trade relationship worth more than £17bn.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is now travelling to Vietnam to conclude a trade agreement with that country.

The EU, taken as a whole is the UK's largest trading partner, with UK exports to the EU totalling £294bn - or 43% of all UK exports - in 2019.

Dinner between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen ended as predicted in Brussels - with neither a breakdown, nor a breakthrough in the trade talks impasse.

EU diplomats say the bloc is ready to go the extra mile during the next days of negotiations but contrary to the UK government view, the EU thinks the decision - deal or no deal - lies primarily in Downing Street.

Brexit isn't on the official discussion agenda at an EU summit starting in Brussels later today, though leaders will be briefed on the negotiations.

Attitudes seem to be hardening.

"No deal is better than a bad deal" is a sentiment you hear both sides of the Channel now.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Raab said: "I think we are rapidly approaching the point where we need some finality."

Asked if talks would go beyond Sunday, he said it was "unlikely" but added "never quite say never when you are negotiating with the EU".

Responding to a warning from the Tesco chair that food prices could rise were a deal not to be agreed, Mr Raab acknowledged there could be "some bumps along the road" but said he was "not concerned about either supermarket cupboards running bare or food prices".

The Confederation of British Industry said the cost of no deal was "significant".

Its director-general, Tony Danker, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The difference between a deal and no deal is incredibly real in GDP [gross domestic product] terms, it's incredibly real for businesses - particularly in certain sectors - so we have to be in 'getting to yes' mode."

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dominic Raab says it's 'unlikely' negotiations will be extended beyond Sunday

Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said the prime minister had "completely failed" to deliver the "oven-ready" deal he had promised at the last election.

"The failure to deliver the deal he promised is his and his alone," she said.

Earlier this week, Mr Johnson said the oven-ready deal he was referring to was the withdrawal agreement, or divorce deal, rather than a trade deal.

SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford tweeted: "A no deal would be a massive failure of diplomacy and leadership which Boris Johnson has to take ownership of."

Meanwhile, Tory Brexiteer MP John Baron said the PM deserved praise for "standing firm" rather than compromising in a rush to agree a deal. "We must remember a trade deal is for keeps, not just for Christmas," he said.

"We all want a deal, but it has to be a good deal because as we've said many times before, no deal is better than a bad deal."

Speaking before he left for Brussels, Mr Johnson said the EU was insisting on terms "no prime minister could accept" in relation to access to UK fishing waters and retaliatory measures if the UK diverged from EU standards.

Any deal also has to be ratified by the European Parliament and win the backing of MPs at Westminster.

The House of Commons could sit as late as Christmas Eve should it be required to look at a Brexit deal, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said.

Under current plans, the Commons will stop sitting on 21 December, but he told Sky News the recess could be delayed.