"We will see in the next few hours or days what the results will be," EU Permanent Council President Charles Michel said at a webcast press conference on Friday morning.
At that time, there were still no signs of an immediate solution in place regarding the rules that will apply to trade, fishing and other collaborations across the English Channel after 1 January.
Significant differences of opinion
And in the evening came the news that the negotiations were paused.
"We agreed today that the conditions for an agreement do not yet exist, due to significant differences of opinion," wrote EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost in a joint statement on Twitter.
Conference call on Saturday
Barnier announces that Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen will hold a telephone meeting on Saturday.
Charles Michel emphasized earlier on Friday that nothing is clear until there is something that all EU countries can accept.
Not least France has clearly stated that it is not willing to accept anything.
The UK formally left the EU on 31 January this year, but will be subject to transitional rules until the turn of the year to make it easier for companies and the general public.
What the negotiations now apply to is the conditions that will prevail from 1 January 2021.