President of the European Commission says Brexit deal is getting closer

LONDON – The chances of Britain and the European Union to reach an agreement on Brexit are increasing, said one of the leaders of the bloc, amid reports that the two sides are getting closer together. problem of the Irish border.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told three Austrian newspapers in comments on Saturday that "the potential for rapprochement between the two sides has increased in recent days".

Negotiations failed after the EU said last month that British Prime Minister Theresa May's proposal for economic relations after Brexit was unacceptable.

Both parties spent days exchanging angry beards, with European leaders demanding excuses after British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt compared the bloc to the Soviet Union.

But officials gathered behind the scenes before a major summit in Brussels on 17 and 18 October. European leaders said major progress must be made at the meeting so that an agreement can be reached before Britain leaves the bloc on March 29.

The main obstacle is to ensure that there are no customs posts or border controls along the border between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, members of the EU. Both sides say the border must remain open, but have not agreed on how this could be accomplished.

The stalemate at the border has heightened fears that the UK is being pulled out of the bloc without an agreement. The British government has acknowledged that planes could be immobilized and trucks tied up in British ports.

Juncker said that a "no deal" on Brexit would be bad for Britain and the EU.

"Our desire to reach an agreement with the British government is intact," he said.

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