Too much at stake: UK, EU set aside trade talk deadline

Britainu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s PM Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. PIC/AFP

Throwing overboard Sunday's self-imposed deadline, the European Union and Britain said they will "go the extra mile" to clinch a post-Brexit trade agreement that would avert New Year's chaos and cost for cross-border commerce.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had set Sunday as the deadline for a breakthrough or breakdown in talks. But they stepped back from the brink because there was too much at stake not to make an ultimate push.

"Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations and despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we both think it is responsible at this point in time to go the extra mile," von der Leyen said.

The negotiators were continuing to talk in Brussels at EU headquarters. With less than three weeks until the UK's final split from the EU, key aspects of the future relationship between the 27-nation bloc and its former member remain unresolved.

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