Brexit

Britain has not yet installed all the complex IT systems and port infrastructure needed to ensure Brexit runs smoothly, a group of British MPs warned in a report released on Dec. 19.  

The Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, a cross-party group of lawmakers, released the report after meeting Thursday online.

In a speech to the European Parliament on Friday,  European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier gave a stark assessment of the ultimatum the EU is giving to the British: access to the EU's single market will be conditional on keeping British fishing waters open to boats from the bloc.

Romanians living in the UK, approximately 700,000, represent 1 percent of the British population, and this community will bring the two nations closer together, British Ambassador in Bucharest Andrew Noble says in an interview to AGERPRES.

 European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said  that "the next few days are important" for negotiations if a trade deal with Britain is going to be in place for Jan. 1, when the United Kingdom finally leaves the European Union.

A trade deal is unlikely to be agreed with the UK by Sunday's deadline, European leaders have been warned according to Bbc.

They were told by European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen no deal was the likeliest end to "difficult" talks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Dec. 10 vowed to go the "extra mile" for a Brexit trade deal but instructed his government to prepare for Britain to crash out of the European Union's single market at the end of this year.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to extend foundering Brexit trade talks until Sunday.

After in-person discussions in Brussels that lasted hours, both sides said Wednesday evening that they remained far apart on key issues and a decision on the future of the talks would be made by the end of this weekend.

The long-awaited meeting will take place "in the coming days", the leaders said after a telephone conversation that lasted more than an hour on Monday, December 7. That conversation followed after a tense morning in Brussels, Jutarnji list writes.

Award-winning crime novelist David Young is leading a last-ditch campaign by British second-home and boat owners calling on the government to allow the former European Union citizens to spend up to six months in Greece at any one time.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday evening to discuss Brexit.

In a tweet, von der Leyen said she was looking forward "to welcoming U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tomorrow evening. We will continue our discussion on the Partnership Agreement."