BRUSSELS – Facing yet another self-imposed Brexit deadline on Sunday, the chief negotiators from the European Union and United Kingdom were making last-ditch efforts to bridge differences on a trade deal that have proved insurmountable for the best part of the year.
The EU's Michel Barnier and Britain's David Frost were already meeting just after dawn Sunday to try to reach a middle ground.
But so far, the U.K. hasn't backed down from its insistence on trading with the 27-nation bloc with as few restraints as possible, and the EU isn't yielding on its demand to accept trade only if Britain respects the rules of the bloc. “There is still I think a long way to go," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said early Sunday.