'October as deadline Brexitdeal unfeasible'

london - Britain and the European Union publicly declare that they want to close a Brexit deal in the next seven weeks. Behind the scenes, however, high staff on both sides indicate that this is highly unlikely. They are now aiming for an agreement about the divorce in the middle of November, say anonymous sources.

The longer it takes until both parties reach an agreement and the nearer the date of Britain's departure from the EU, the greater the chance that there will be no agreement by March 29, 2019. The European summit that started on 18 October was long regarded as a deadline.

The reaching of an agreement in the autumn is considered necessary because there is still enough time for the British and European parliaments to ratify the agreement.

Michel Barnier, the negotiator on behalf of the EU, admitted after a meeting with Dominic Raab, the Brexit Minister for Great Britain, that he did not want to commit to October as the deadline for the negotiations. However, he also emphasized that it should not be much later and that there should be an agreement 'certainly before the end of the year'.

Raab had stated at the end of August that he was confident that London and Brussels would reach an agreement on the withdrawal in October. 'We can do that if we have that ambition, business and energy on both sides. 'Both negotiators had announced that they would intensify their negotiations. 'We will negotiate continuously from now on,' Barnier said.