Britain and the European Union have moved closer to sealing a new trade deal but it was still unclear if they would succeed, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
Britain and the EU are in the final stretch of talks to keep an estimated one trillion dollars of annual trade free of tariffs and quotas beyond December 31, when the UK finally leaves the world's largest trading bloc.
With just over two weeks left, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped the EU would "see sense" and agree a deal that respected Britain's sovereignty, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc favoured agreement.
Von der Leyen told the European Parliament: "I cannot tell you whether there will be a deal or not. But I can tell you that there is a path to an agreement now. The path may be very narrow but it is there."
Her relatively upbeat comments on the long-running Brexit crisis helped nudge sterling upwards on currency markets.
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However, Von der Leyen also said two issues were still unsolved.
"We have found a way forward on most issues but two issues still remain outstanding: the level playing field and fisheries," she said. "Issues linked to governance now have largely been resolved. The next days are going to be decisive."
The level playing field refers to EU insistence that Britain does not undercut it on business regulations, notably when it comes to state aid. "Governance" refers to the resolution of disputes.
Analysts say that Johnson's desire to pivot to the left on the economy – getting out of EU state aid rules to allow Westminster to dole out subsidies to UK businesses – is at the heart of the two sides' differences.
Von der Leyen said discussions about access to UK fishing waters for EU vessels were still very difficult.
Britain formally left the EU on January 31 but has been in a transition period since then under which rules on trade, travel and business remain unchanged. It finally exits the bloc's single market and customs union on December 31.
Failure to agree a deal would erect trade barriers between the EU and Britain, snarl borders, send shockwaves through financial markets and cause chaos in supply chains across Europe as it also struggles with Covid-19.
'See sense'
Johnson, who won election last year pledging to "get Brexit done" and for Britain to "take back control", said he hoped the EU would "see sense and do a deal".
He later emphasised the point at a press conference, when he said: "Where we get to with the EU – well, again, that is very much a matter for our friends. They know what the parameters are."
His spokesman said no trade deal was still the mostly likely outcome.
Merkel said the EU would prefer a deal but is prepared either way, adding there was no breakthrough yet.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is at odds with Britain over fish quotas, said he wanted the best possible relationship with the UK.
But the two sides have yet to narrow gaps on two of the thorniest issues: fishing rights in British waters and the level playing field.
An EU official told Reuters that the bloc had rejected Britain's offer of phased access to its waters over three years by fishing vessels from EU member states and that the sides were "an ocean apart" on the issue.
Von der Leyen hailed a "big step forward" in agreeing a so-called non-regression clause, which would "ensure that our common high labour, social and environmental standards will not be undercut".
Sources said there were disagreements over "balanced equivalence", which London saw as tying Britain to the EU's regulatory orbit, and a dispute resolution mechanism to determine whether competition was distorted and remedies if so.
Britain saw the EU's pitch for "effective remedial measures" as giving the bloc too much leeway to retaliate on trade.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
