According to AFP Monday, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed her satisfaction over talks with Britain to agree a post-Brexit trade pact, adding that progress was made as negotiators entered the “last mile."

"First of all there is movement. That is good... We are talking about a new beginning with old friends," said von der Leyen in an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference.

She described the “last mile” to go as an “essential one," while stressing that she wanted an equal level playing field over the long run.

"This is the architecture we are building. We are fine about the architecture itself, but the details in it -- do they really fit? These are crucial points because it is a matter of fairness, fair competition and we want to ensure that,” she said.

Von der Leyen’s comments came following EU and British officials were set to continue with Brexit negotiations after von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to abandon a “supposed make-or-break weekend deadline,” according to AFP.

-Who would be the loser?-

In a radio interview earlier Monday, the French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire warned that in the event of a no deal in the trade talks "the losers will be the British. We don't lose much."

He added that the government estimates Brexit would only reduce the French GDP by 0.1 percent in 2021 and French trade to Britain "was not much as far France's total global trade volume is concerned".

Additionally, Le Maire criticized the Brexit ordeal while quoting the last novel by British novelist John Le Carre, whose died Sunday. "Brexit, to quote a very simple phrase of John Le Carre -- to whom I take this opportunity to pay tribute -- is 'lunacy.'"

Boris Johnson announced Monday that the UK will keep negotiating to explore the options at hand, saying “the UK certainly won’t be walking away from the talks, I think people will expect us to go the extra mile.”

Also Read: No-deal Brexit still most likely, despite extended negotiations

There is ‘movement’ in #Brexit talks: #EU Chief#Britain #UK #Boris
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