EU Chief Negotiator Says Brexit Deal Still Possible This Week

The European Union and the United Kingdom still have the chance to strike a divorce deal this week, even though it would be "very difficult," the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said on Tuesday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2019) The European Union and the United Kingdom still have the chance to strike a divorce deal this week, even though it would be "very difficult," the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said on Tuesday.

Michel Barnier arrived at the EU's General Affairs Council to brief the EU 27 on his talks with London. The meeting comes in the run up to the key two-day EU summit later in the week, the last one before the Brexit deadline.

"Even if an agreement will be difficult, more and more difficult, we're frank, it is still possible this week," Barnier said upon his arrival at the council.

He also expressed belief that it was "high time to turn good intentions into a legal text" and get a deal beneficial both for the UK and the rest of the EU.

The UK is set to leave the bloc on October 31. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that he wants to take the country out of the bloc, with or without a deal. However, the parliament, which strongly opposes a no-deal, has obliged him to seek an extension if no withdrawal agreement is secured by October 19.

Earlier, Johnson said that he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than ask Brussels for another delay.