The so called “Last Supper” meeting between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ended with no concrete progress. Both sides’ position remained “far apart” and a new deadline of this week is set for further talks.
After dinner, von der Leyen said, “we had a lively and interesting discussion on the state of play across the list of outstanding issues. We gained a clear understanding of each other’s positions. They remain far apart.” “We agreed that the teams should immediately reconvene to try to resolve these essential issues,” she added. “We will come to a decision by the end of the weekend.”
Separately, EU Financial Services Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said, “today we are preparing contingency plans, very specific and very narrowly focused to make sure that in the event of a ‘no deal’ that those sectors that are vulnerable, transport, aviation etc, that specific plans are put in place to maintain connectivity.”
