The trade talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union are about to resume after positive contact between the two sides in recent days. The aim is to reach a trade agreement in mid-November, insiders tell Bloomberg news agency.
A decision on whether to resume talks could be made as early as Wednesday or Thursday, and negotiators could then immediately pick up the thread. Since the end of last week, the negotiations have reached an impasse.
Then a deadline set by Boris Johnson expired. The British Prime Minister wants the EU to take steps to reach a compromise, but Brussels points to the British for this.
In recent days, chief European negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart talked, but they were not official negotiations.
Johnson would like to hear from Barnier that the EU is ready to start work on a legal text for a possible deal, that the EU recognizes British sovereignty and that the EU is prepared to seek a compromise. Barnier did so in a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Barnier did say that there will be no trade deal without agreements on European access to British fishing grounds. That has been one of the stumbling blocks in the negotiations so far.
If no agreement is reached, it will actually be a no-deal Brexit from next year. In addition, both sides impose trade levies on products of the other and border controls will be introduced.