EU Leaders Call For UK Trade Talks To Continue

EU leaders have called for post-Brexit trade talks to continue beyond the end of the week – the deadline suggested by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

At a two-day summit in Brussels beginning on Thursday, they called on the UK to “make the necessary moves” towards a deal.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said fresh “intensive” talks should aim to reach a deal around the end of October.

But his UK counterpart said he was “disappointed” by the EU’s approach.

Lord David Frost tweeted the EU was expecting “all future moves” for a deal to come from the UK, which he called an “unusual approach to conducting a negotiation”.

He added the prime minister would react to the EU’s position as the summit wraps up on Friday.

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Both sides are calling on each other to compromise on key issues, including fishing and limits on government subsidies to businesses.

They are seeking an agreement to govern their trading relationship once the UK’s post-Brexit transition period ends in December.

Following the talks on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “in some places there was movement, in other places there is still a lot of work to do.”

“We have asked Great Britain to continue to be willing to compromise towards an agreement. Of course, this also means that we have to make compromises,” she told reporters.

European Council President Charles Michel said the EU would decide whether talks should continue in the coming days, based on the UK’s next move.

Mr Barnier said negotiations were “not finished”, and the EU was ready to accelerate talks from Monday for the “two or three weeks that remain before us”.

Earlier, in a conclusions document issued during the summit, the EU said progress in key areas was currently “not sufficient” to reach a deal.

It asked Mr Barnier to “continue negotiations in the coming weeks”.