Comments by EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier
- Failure to reach a deal will be more harmful for the UK than the EU
- We will have to prioritise what we need to do this year
- Even if we were to agree on every point of the future relationship with the UK, it would take more than 11 months
The EU continues to hint at more skepticism over reaching a deal before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson is likely to come out to say that it is certainly doable and that there will be no extension to the transition period.
The timing struggle isn't something that is concerning markets all too much right now but expect it to weigh on the pound somewhere down the line this year if and when negotiations about the future trade relationship hit a stumbling block.
