The European Union and Britain have made better progress in reaching a trade agreement in the last few days before the deadline. Even so, according to the EU chief executive, there is still a lot of work to be done by 31 December 2020.
EU diplomats representing the 27 member states that have negotiated with Britain say that Brussels and London are still at loggerheads over fishing rights, guarantees fair competition and a way to resolve disputes in the future.
However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a more optimistic note of the discussions that took place in which the negotiations in general showed progress in the matter in question.
According to him, "after weeks of negotiations only making small progress, now we have seen better progress towards a better deadline."
Negotiations so far are still stuck on 3 issues directly but there has been momentum to reach a timely agreement.
Britain's withdrawal from the EU after 31 December will result in quotas and tariffs will be imposed and this will indirectly affect bilateral trade starting in 2021.
