Von der Leyen to hold talks with Johnson today - RTÉ

The President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are expected to hold talks on the final sticking points in the post Brexit trade negotiations later today.

Last night the EU and British chief negotiators agreed to suspend the talks after a week of intense negotiations in London.

Unable to reach agreement in three key areas, Michel Barnier and David Frost decided to pause the talks because, as they put it, the conditions for an agreement are not met.

They cited significant divergences in the three long established problem areas - fish, fair competition and dispute resolution.

This morning they are briefing their respective political heads, Ursula Von der Leyen and Boris Johnson who will then talk this afternoon to see if a top level political intervention can unblock the talks.