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Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement following their phone call that they were instructing their chief negotiators to meet again in Brussels on Sunday. /VCG
Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement following their phone call that they were instructing their chief negotiators to meet again in Brussels on Sunday.
The statement said: "In a phone call today on the on-going negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, we welcomed the fact that progress has been achieved in many areas.
"Nevertheless, significant differences remain on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries. Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved.
"Whilst recognising the seriousness of these differences, we agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by our negotiating teams to assess whether they can be resolved.
"We are therefore instructing our chief negotiators to reconvene tomorrow in Brussels.
"We will speak again on Monday evening.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin tweeted: "I welcome the fact that negotiators will resume their discussions on an EU and UK trade deal in Brussels tomorrow. An agreement is in everyone's best interests. Every effort should be made to reach a deal.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: "I had a phone call with Boris Johnson on the EU-UK negotiations. Differences remain. No agreement feasible if these are not resolved. Chief negotiators will reconvene tomorrow. We will speak again on Monday.”
(With input from agencies)
