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EU, British Leaders Concede Big Gaps Remain in Post-Brexit Talks

Associated Press

   BRUSSELS - Britain and the European Union provided sober updates
   Thursday on the state of post-Brexit trade discussions, with only two
   weeks to go before a potentially chaotic split.

   While Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union's executive
   commission, noted "substantial progress on many issues," she voiced
   concerns about the discussions taking place around fishing rights.
   British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned that a no-deal outcome
   seemed "very likely."

   The two spoke early Thursday evening, their latest in a series of
   conversations in the past couple of weeks aimed at unclogging the
   talks, which have moved at a snail's pace since Britain left the EU on
   January 31.

   Britain remains within the EU's tariff-free single market and customs
   union until December 31. A failure to reach a post-Brexit deal would
   likely lead to chaos on the borders at the start of 2021 as tariffs and
   other impediments to trade are enacted by both sides. The talks have
   gotten bogged down on three main issues -- the EU's access to Britain's
   fishing waters, the level playing field to ensure fair competition
   between businesses, and the governance of any deal.

   Following their latest conversation, von der Leyen warned that bridging
   big differences, in particular on fisheries, "will be very
   challenging." Negotiations, she added, would continue Friday.

   According to a statement from Johnson's office, the prime minister
   stressed that "time was very short" and that it "now looked very likely
   that agreement would not be reached unless the EU position changed
   substantially."