BRITISH, EU LEADERS PUSH FOR TRADE DEAL

Britain’s prime minister and the head of the European Union told their chief negotiators Saturday to get back together and push “intensively” to strike a post-brexit trade deal before time runs out in a matter of weeks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a video call in a bid to overcome a stubborn roadblock in the trade negotiations.

In a joint statement, the two said that “progress had been made in recent weeks but that significant gaps remained, notably but not only in the areas of fisheries, the level playing field, and governance.”

The statement said they instructed their chief negotiators to work intensively to try to bridge those gaps.

The U.K.’S chief negotiator, David Frost, said on Twitter that he would begin talks with EU counterpart Michel Barnier “as soon as we can next week.”

Britain left the EU politically in January after more than 45 years of membership, but remains economically tied to the bloc until Dec. 31.

The two parties are trying to strike a rudimentary trade deal before then, to avoid a barrage of uncertainty, tariffs and red tape that would hurt economies on both sides. But while negotiators have inched close to agreement in many areas during six months of talks, they remain deadlocked over European fishing boats’ access to U.K. waters, and over the level of support governments can give to industry. The EU is concerned that British plans to subsidize sectors such as technology will amount to unfair competition.