Brexit: Jean-Claude Juncker declares that the chances of an agreement have increased

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The chances of the UK and EU to reach an agreement on Brexit have increased in recent days, said the President of the European Commission.

S addressing the Austrian press, Jean-Claude Juncker said that even though it was not certain that an agreement could be reached in October, it could be in November.

Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan also expressed his optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement before December.

The UK must leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

However, there is still no agreement on certain issues, including how to avoid new controls at the Irish border.

Asked in an interview whether an agreement could be reached at the next meeting of European leaders in 11 days, Juncker said: "We are not that far yet, but our willingness to reach an agreement with the government British is not defeated. "

He also reiterated his position that a non-agreement scenario "would not be good" for the UK or the EU.

EU officials optimistically assessed the progress of negotiations on Friday night and reported a better atmosphere in the negotiations at the Irish border.

This prompted the pound sterling to recover against the euro and the US dollar.

BBC Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming said the officials "still seem to insist that the withdrawal agreement as a whole come to fruition" at the EU summit on 17 October.

"Although, if we learned something from Brexit, it's that the schedule is incredibly flexible to use diplomatic language," he told BBC Radio 4's Today show.

Positive comments came as the Guardian reported that senior Conservative officials had had private contacts with a number of Labor MPs to persuade them to back Theresa May's Brexit deal.

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A few weeks after the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, declared that Theresa May's plans were impracticable.

Both parties had hoped to finalize the so-called divorce agreement and agree on a declaration regarding their future economic cooperation by the October summit.

But last month, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that if both parties were "realistic", an agreement could be reached by November, when a summit unique will have been organized.

The European Commission is also planning to publish an analysis indicating where the two sides agree on elements of their future relations.

It could appear alongside the latest EU emergency plans for a non-agreement scenario, which will be released next week.

Speaking on Any Questions from BBC Radio 4, Sir Alan Duncan also showed optimism about the prospects for an agreement.

"We are in the art of the possible here, and from what I see in the government, I think we will get an agreement, whether in October or November, at the two consecutive summits." , did he declare.