Brexit: EU negotiations with Great Britain will last until morning

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According to the EU Commission, the negotiations between the EU and Great Britain on a trade agreement after Brexit will drag on through the whole night of Thursday.

"The Brexit work will continue through the night," wrote Commission spokesman Eric Mamer shortly after 02.00 CET on the short message service Twitter.

He recommends "all Brexit observers to get some sleep at this time".

An agreement had recently come within reach in the negotiations.

Late in the evening, a diplomat said that the EU member states were still checking whether all the necessary guarantees were contained in a compromise proposal.

This could take all night.

If all goes well, an agreement could be in place on Thursday morning.

A press conference is planned for early Thursday morning, the BBC reported.

On Thursday night, a stack of steaming pizza boxes was delivered to the EU headquarters in Brussels.

It could be interpreted as a sign that the Brexit negotiators were really nailing it this time - but at least that there was still talk.

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“We are in the final phase,” it said on Wednesday afternoon from EU circles.

From French government circles it was reported that the British had made "enormous concessions".

It was about the controversial issue of future fishing rights for EU fishermen in British waters.

They are particularly important to coastal countries like France.

Great Britain left the EU on February 1, but the country will remain in the EU internal market and the customs union until the end of the year.

Brussels and London have been negotiating a trade agreement for ten months.

In addition to fishing, the main points of contention were the competitive conditions for British and EU companies and the control of a future agreement.

If the negotiators achieve a breakthrough, the governments of all 27 EU member states would still have to agree.

To this end, there could be a meeting of the EU ambassadors in Brussels first.

The text would then be checked in the capital cities.

It could therefore take several days before the EU got the green light, it said from EU circles. 

Without an agreement, customs duties would be levied in mutual trade at the turn of the year according to the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Business associations expect massive congestion at borders in delivery traffic and the interruption of important industrial supply chains in this case, and warn of billions in additional costs and revenue shortfalls.