The spectre of a no-deal Brexit has come a step closer after Boris Johnson ended one-on-one talks with the president of the European Commission without any breakthrough in the search for a free trade agreement.
The PM and Ursula von der Leyen said they would instruct 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 a joint statement released after the phone discussion appeared to signal awareness on both sides that a deal may not be achievable, saying that they regard it as important to get an agreement “if at all possible”.
The pair agreed that “significant gaps remain” following what was scheduled to be the final round of talks between Frost and Barnier in Brussels last week.
The failure to make a breakthrough has put Mr Johnson’s self-imposed 15 October deadline for agreement at risk.
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And it raised questions over whether enough time remains to negotiate a free trade deal and get it endorsed by the European Parliament before the end of the UK’s transition away from the EU at 11pm on 31 December.
If no deal is reached by that time, the UK will be forced to trade with its nearest neighbours on World Trade Organisation terms with tariffs on many goods, in a no-deal Brexit which the prime minister refers to as an Australian-style arrangement, as Australia has no deal with the EU.
He today restated his willingness to accept no-deal, breaking into a Crocodile Dundee accent as he told the Daily Telegraph: “Australia holds no terrors for us mate, we say good on yer, no worries, no wukkas.”
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.”
