No Brexit Agreement Feasible if Differences Not Resolved, Von Der Leyen Says After Call With Johnson

Earlier this week, chief UK and EU negotiators, David Frost and Michel Barnier, suspended the talks, saying their respective political leaders would "discuss the state of play".

No agreement is feasible if differences between the EU and the UK over Brexit are not resolved, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said, after her phone call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

She took to Twitter to announce the results of her conversation with Johnson.

I had a phone call with @BorisJohnson 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. https://t.co/fsVtfW0HHh

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 5, 2020

Von der Leyen added that trade negotiators will resume the talks on Sunday. ​

European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that Sunday talks will show if the deal can be reached.

We will see if there is a way forward. Work continues tomorrow. https://t.co/dUGmZB4Dgx

— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) December 5, 2020

​Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin posted on Twitter to say that he welcomes the decision to resume the negotiations.

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.

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 5, 2020

On Friday, the UK and EU chief negotiators, David Frost and Michel Barnier, announced they were putting talks on hold to brief their respective political leaders on the state of play, adding that Johnson and Von der Leyen would have a conversation the next day to discuss the latest developments concerning a post-Brexit trade deal.  

In this file picture taken on March 25, 2017 an EU flag and a Union flag held by a demonstrator is seen with Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) and the Houses of Parliament as marchers taking part in an anti-Brexit, pro-European Union (EU) enter Parliament Square in central London, ahead of the British government's planned triggering of Article 50 next week.

© AFP 2023 / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

The UK left the EU on 31 January, and since then London and Brussels have been involved in challenging talks concerning their trade relations once the extension period ends on 31 December. What keeps the sides from achieving a deal is lack of agreement on the issues of fishing rights, the "level playing field" (the standards the UK must meet to export goods to the EU) and the way future disputes will be settled.