Britain, EU to confer for Brexit trade deal

The U.K. and the European Union are meeting for the last time to settle, once and for all, a free trade agreement before the Brexit transition expires at the end of the year.

The prime minister of Ireland warned against over optimism about striking an agreement between two parties, saying that the chances of getting a deal are only at 50-50. In case the two parties did not agree on a trade deal, Ireland, among the 26 EU members, would be the most negatively impacted in the economy by the no-deal Brexit.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke over the weekend to reconvene the talks that had been impeded by disagreements.

On Monday evening, the two leaders are expected to speak over the phone in the hope that disagreements on certain issues, including fishing rights in UK waters, will be resolved. However, a government source on Sunday revealed that there was no breakthrough on fishing rights despite its local newspaper claimed to have one.

If the two parties did not end up having a trade deal, a five-year Brexit divorce will end just as the U.K. and EU partners struggle with economic pains brought by the pandemic.