LONDON - British and European Union negotiators are racing to strike a post-Brexit trade deal before the end of the week, with officials on both sides saying the outcome is still too close to call.
The next few days are crucial, with the UK and EU teams hoping that an agreement can be reached on Friday or over the weekend, officials said. One said that while a final picture was beginning to emerge, the situation remains incredibly delicate. The EU has outsourced its negotiating to Mr Barnier and the European Commission, and some countries - especially France and the Netherlands - are uneasy about what sort of compromises are being made in their name, one EU official said.
The talks, which have been going on since March, need to finish within days if the UK and EU parliaments are to have time to ratify any agreement before Britain leaves the EU's single market on Dec 31. The two biggest obstacles to a trade deal remain what access EU boats will have to British fishing waters and the level competitive playing field for business - but progress has been made on both in the last few days, officials said.
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