UK’s Johnson to head to Brussels amid Brexit talks deadlock

BRUSSELS — More than four years after helping set Britain’s course out of the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is headed to EU headquarters to try to finish the job.

With less than a month until the U.K.’s economic rupture with the European Union and talks on a new trade deal at a standstill on three crucial issues, Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed Monday to meet in person “in the coming days” to see whether they can find common ground.

Brussels is dangerous territory for Brexitbacking British leaders. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, came time and again to negotiate a Brexit deal, only to see it repeatedly rejected by her own Parliament, ending her top-level career. Johnson will be hoping for a quick in-andout that leaves his reputation intact and his country on course for a free trade deal with its biggest economic partner.

Johnson and von der Leyen spoke by phone Monday for the second time in 48 hours, as their negotiators were stuck in gridlocked trade talks. They said after the call that that “significant differences” remained on three key issues — fishing rights, fair-competition rules and the governance of future disputes — and “the conditions for finalizing an agreement are not there.”

The two leaders said in a joint statement they planned to discuss the remaining differences “in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days.”