EU says Brexit trade talks with Boris Johnson to 'intensify'

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called for trade talks with the UK to "intensify" as she prepared to take stock of progress with Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen. The Prime Minister is to hold talks with the European Commission president. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

The two leaders are to speak tomorrow to discuss the "next steps" following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal in Brussels.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said today there continued to be issues to resolve on fishing, state aid and governance, all three of which have been long-term bugbears in the talks.

The announcement of the video conference call between the Prime Minister and Ms von der Leyen prompted speculation they could be preparing to launch a final series of intensive talks - dubbed "the tunnel" - in a last push for an agreement.

Speaking at a news conference in the Belgian capital, Mrs von der Leyen said she believed a deal was still possible, but warned that time was running out.

She said the "most difficult issues", including fisheries and state aid rules, still had to be resolved if they were to get an agreement in place by the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

"It is good to have a deal - but not at any price," she said.

"We have made progress on many, many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open.

"But overall, where there is a will, there is a way, so I think we should intensify the negotiations because it is worth working hard on it.

"We are running out of time - around 100 days to the end of the year - so it is worth stepping up now."

Downing Street made clear Mr Johnson still believed there needed to be a deal by the time of the next EU summit in two weeks' time on 15 October.

The Prime Minister has indicated that he will walk away from the negotiating table if there is not an agreement by then as it will be too late to implement before the transition ends.

"We have always said the middle of October is where we believe we would need to see a resolution to this in order to make sure we have all the things we need to have in place for the end of the transition period," a No 10 spokesman said.

"We continue to work towards a free trade agreement. That's what we want, that is what we will continue to work towards."

Mrs von der Leyen and the Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin updated EU leaders in Brussels on the state of the talks as the lead negotiators - Michel Barnier and Lord Frost - were meeting in the Belgian capital.

The EU has been angered by Mr Johnson's UK Internal Market Bill, which gives ministers the power to override provisions in the Brexit divorce settlement relating to Northern Ireland - a measure the UK says is necessary to protect the peace process.

It follows reports this week that the UK has offered Brussels a three-year transition period to allow European fishermen to reduce their British sea quota gradually, rather than face an immediate cut when the transition period ends on 1 January.