Scrambling for Brexit deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — British and European Union (EU) negotiators agreed Friday to intensify efforts to find a new Brexit withdrawal agreement, just days before a key European summit.

EU member states will review progress on Monday, following a meeting between influential leaders French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A European diplomat, however, told AFP that EU ambassadors may gather as soon as Sunday for a stock taking if Barnier feels there is any backsliding from the British side.

The stepped-up negotiations came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar held a meeting Thursday both sides dubbed “promising.”

That led to a Brussels working breakfast Friday between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and British Brexit minister Stephen Barclay to break the talks logjam.

Neither side revealed much detail about what was discussed.

But a European official told AFP: “Basically, the British are ready to evolve on the question of customs, towards an all-island economy.”