European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on Wednesday that despite the "genuine progress" on several important issues in post-Brexit trade talks with London, she "cannot tell you today if there will in the end there be a deal."

As if the Brexit trade negotiations were not tortuous enough, the coronavirus added a twist at a crucial stage on Thursday when top-level talks had to be suspended because an EU negotiator tested positive for COVID-19. It added uncertainty to the negotiations as a deadline looms ever closer and both sides are still divided on three key issues.

A premature troop withdrawal from Afghanistan may complicate peace talks between the government in Kabul and the Taliban, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday, commenting on US plans to pull out 2,000 troops from the country.

Britain and the European Union have less than 10 days to find a way to unlock trade talks, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday, after both sides called on the other to move their position on two of the most troublesome areas. British officials repeatedly say any deal must respect the country’s sovereignty, while the EU says the proximity of Britain to the Union means Brussels cannot hand it a trade deal similar to those it has agreed with countries such as Canada.

The EU in a statement on Friday threatened to add more sanctions against Belarus over the death of a 31-year-old man following his detention by the police in the capital Minsk.

A summit of EU leaders on 19 November is now viewed by Brussels as the final deadline for a draft Brexit deal, with negotiations on Britain’s future trade and security relationship with the Union set to go to the wire, news wires reported. The negotiators teams had hoped to be able to pass on a deal to MEPs for scrutiny by 18 November to allow time for parliamentary ratification but the talks remain difficult, according to sources on both sides.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she hoped EU accession talks could be launched with North Macedonia and Albania before Germany's EU Council presidency finishes at the end of the year, AFP reported.

The European Union said on Tuesday that it will not take part in an international conference this week on the return of refugees to Syria, insisting that the first priority should be to make it safe for people to go back to the conflict-ravaged country, news wires reported.

British PM Boris Johnson and EC President Ursula von der Leyen agreed in a phone call on Saturday to “redouble efforts” to reach a trade deal and vowed to carry new talks next week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to speak by telephone Saturday to assess the state of post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and the European Union.