katty: kevin connolly from wrestles, thank you foroining us.hat is the view from europe. -- kevin connolly from brussels. now we turn to jessica are rrespondent. how important it is for the eu to leave with some kind of deal on the table. how important is it for the prime minister to secure some kind of deal before the u.k. leaves the eu on december 31? jessica:he i think view is that on january 1, after the transition. has ended, there'll be some level of druption and new rder checks. the question that hedgesbout the trad deal, theth extent of e disruption and how serious those border checks are, the question of tariffs as well. for those who export goods across the channel, like cars and dairy products, for they tfaceiffs the businesses are saying could be incredibly problematic for them? that is one of the main issues here. in terms of politil arguments, but the government is tying is thy want a deal. they want to get a tarf-free but not at the expense of giving up sovereignty. theyre say that sonty is what brexit is all about. they say that

joining us now is europe corrndent kevin connolly.enny reed the eu -- can you reed the eu tea leaves? >> it is genuinely the case that it iimpossible to say. in the streets behind me, can see bastad since motorcade preparing to leave the -- the motorcade of boris johnson. we last heard that we could not even behe sure if would be a joint statement afterward. if they would come together say something about the possibility of talks going on. everything would depend on the mood inside that dinner. only the people gather around that table know how it went. the only thing thawe know for sure after years of telling people that time would run out r time is realning out now. this is months, years in the making, this crisis. there are only days and weeks left to resolve it. night would be the chemical -- tonight would be the pivotal ment to resolve it. we will know how it went shortly. katty: how important is it to e european union that the u.k. leaves the group with some kind of deal on the table? kevin: it is what the eurs.ean union wa key m

but first, let's go live to brussels and our europe correspondent, kevin connolly. kevin.eve for the negotiations. the talks go on. yes. not a solution, of course. but when you consider the mood of negativity heading into today, the idea that today might be the date when they pulled the plug on the entire process, then clearly, something at least has been salvaged. you heard ursula von der leyen saying they thought it was worth going the extra mile. there she is using imperial weights and measures, you don't hear them very much in brussels, so i wonder if that was a bit of a nod to the british negotiators. none of this means that everything is fixed. you still have problems with fisheries committee still have that dispute over the rules governing access to the european single market. but when you consider that the talk yesterday was of the royal navy being deployed to guard british fisheries, it does feel as though the mood has improved a bit. and here is, ithink of feel as though the mood has improved a bit. and here is, i think of the interesting point in today, which is

with me now is our brussels correspondent kevin connolly.dent kevin connolly. exactly what this m ambassadors explain exactly what this means. eu ambassadors unanimously approving the application of the deal. the best way of looking at is his frankly would have been amazing if they had not done so. of course, the member state governments, the ambassadors themselves have been keptin ambassadors themselves have been kept in the look of every stage of the negotiation. so this is really a formal ratification. it simply means that the deal is working its way through the eu's layers of decision—making and no one has ever accused the eu of not having enough decision—making layers, so there are a few more bureaucratic bits and pieces to do this weekend then there is an event of some political importance to come at some point, we think early in the new year when the european parliament will be asked to approve it because the european parliament eventually in december said it's getting too late in decemberfor us to said it's getting too late in decemb

lukwesa: our europe correspondent kevin connolly was listening, and he gave us is a assessment of reactionn brussels. kevin: barnier is a technocratic figu, gives what sounds like an oscar acceptance speech, there is a sense of occasion in brussels, with a sense of occasion ts different sense of occasion in london. brexit is still regret in the european union. they did not want the u.k. to go. they miss u.k. llthey have seen it as a cge to be managed with the minimum possible disruption to the european union. their goal is to defend the integrity of their single market and to maintain their political unity under the pressure of negotiation. all that.eel they have achieved ursula von der leyen "world news america, president -- eyursula von der president of the european commission, who speaks perfect english, minister quote--managed to quote the beatles and shakespeare in saying goodbye to this phase, and said that britain means a trted partner and ally, a country with shared values and shared interests. so, there is reliercome a sense that the job has been done that the process has been mag

that was michel barnier, let us cross live to brussels and speak to our correspondent kevin connolly. the whole of that news conference, they are glad add glad they finally got a deal. relieved but there was almost a heavy heart from the top europeans we heard from. yes i think thatis europeans we heard from. yes i think that is right. you know, michel barnier is a pretty dry technocratic figure so when a man like that sta rts figure so when a man like that starts giving what sounds like a 0scars acceptance speech you know there is a sense of occasion in brussels, but the sense of occasion here is different to the sense of occasion in london. brexit is still a matter of regret in the european union, they didn't want the uk to 90, union, they didn't want the uk to go, they missed the uk, they have seen it as a challenge to be managed, with the minimum possible disruption to the european union. union. their goal has been to defend the intends integrity of their single market and to maintain their political unity under the pressure of negotiation. so they feel they have achieved all of t

ros: here is kevin connolly in brussels in -- on what wem ight expect fday's meeting. >> the politicalthe political atmosphere is hard to ca because what we hearth o way into this meeting is what you and i have heard at many summits in the last few years which is we want a deal but we don't want a deal at any price, and that is essentially what they are both still ng. they have their lines, they have those negotiating points beyond which they cannot afford to go politically, but they have not revealed them and time really is running out. ave been saying for a lo timemi, push is to shove, it is all coming down to the wire. anow at the wire. the transition perk.d for the nds from the 30 thursday of this month -- the 31st of this month. if there is no deal by then, thmee will be no deal unti talk -- sometime in the future. a narrow wdow of time. it seems to me the likelie t outcome ight's talks is an agreement to keep talking. for the moment, the chief negotiators have said, we have got into a certain point, we can't gother without high-level political engent. they have a bit of engagemen

with the view from london and brussels, here are our correspondents nick eardley and kevin connolly.ks are going to go on for a few hours yet. we know they are into the nitty—gritty. it is really crossing tees and dotting the eyes. the latest we heard is that it is likely to be included in the next few hours and it looks like it will be the morning before we know for sure that the deal is done. it seems to be going that way and i don't think anything has happened that necessarily makes us think that there is not going to be a deal agreed between the eu and the uk in the next few hours. but if you are holding your breath for a deal tonight i think you will be disappointed. it looks like the morning rather than a late one tonight. it has been a rather strange day here when that historic agreement has really seemed within touching distance all day but has not quite been touched yet. our understanding is that the small hours of the morning here and that the talking will continue through the night, perhaps, on the vexed question of fisheries but it sums up the state of the negotiations, t

our europe correspondent, kevin connolly, says there's a lot of detail which still needs to be fleshedll, it is a 1200 page agreement, so an enormous number of things have been agreed to, covering everything from what happens when you take your pet on holiday in the european union from the united kingdom to how trade will be executed. that of course is the really big headline. there will be no tariffs and no quotas on trade. that is the essence of a free trade agreement. that's goods. now, from the british perspective, there are lots of important areas of economic activity which are either still to be negotiated or which do not currently form part of that agreement. that would include financial services, that is a huge motor in the british economy, actually, and it includes various other areas, including rules on data. brexit, the end of the transition period is at the end of the year, but it's not the end of the process. this is a relationship that will involve a lot of talking over a lot of time. it's the end of a phase but not the end of the talks or the process. this relationship w

our europe correspondent kevin connolly is in brussels. he spelled out the next steps for the deal.dors approved it today. it has to be signed formally by member state governments in their respective capitals, probably tomorrow, i think there is a deadline of tomorrow afternoon. then it will be signed off by the european council and european commission presidents, that is charles michel and ursula von der leyen. probably the day after that. then at some point in the new year it will be approved by the european parliament. so my apologies for that very long list, but you did ask. essentially, this has been done with no fanfare today and the truth of the matter is that all of the politics of brexit on this side of the english channel, they're pretty much settled. so these are steps to be gone through. you will see them probably in the headlines from time to time, but essentially it is a done deal and these are procedural steps, so, you know, there were no television pictures today, for example, to match the festive pictures of the ambassadors gathering on christmas day done without fa

thank you all, thank you all. 0ur europe correspondent kevin connolly was listening to michel barnierier‘s a really dry, technocratic figure, so when a man like that starts giving what basically sounds like an 0scars acceptance speech, you know there is a sense of occasion in brussels, but the sense of occasion here is different of course to the sense of occasion in london. brexit is still a matter of regret in the european union. they didn‘t want the uk to go. they miss the uk. they have seen it as a challenge to be managed, with the minimum possible disruption to the european union. their goal has been to defend the integrity of the single market and to attain their political unity under the pressure of negotiation. so they feel they have achieved all of that. but ursula von der leyen, a remarkable linguist who speaks pretty much perfect english, she managed to quote both the beatles and shakespeare in saying goodbye to this phase of the british relationship. and she said britain of course remains a trusted partner and ally and a country with shared values and shared interests, so t

our europe correspondent kevin connolly has been examining the state of the negotiations from brusselsthis morning. lord frost, the british negotiator, arrived an hour ago and everything is under way again. we know that we are somewhere between breakthrough and break down. between breakthrough and breakdown. that spectrum you always find in talks, and we are definitely somewhat closer to the breakdown end of that spectrum, but we do not know how close. and as iain was saying in the report, it is possible today that borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen will come to the conclusion that there is no point carrying on, but they are too far apart that they are too far apart and the gap can't be bridged, and there is also the possibility they will think with two and a half weeks until the end of the year, what is the point in stopping talking now? the instinct in brussels is always to keep talking. we talk about these things coming down to the wire. in brussels, when you come down to the wire, you start stretching the wire to see how far it will go. there is a possibility that will be the ou

for more, i spoke with our brussels correpsondent kevin connolly.sentially to decide who comes in and leaves their territory. they remain sovereign states, but the eu institutions try to put a sort of architecture across the top of that. for example, the european commission is saying after a couple days of emergency measures, there is now no real reason why all planes and trains should be banned from entering or leaving the uk. while nonessential travel is strongly not recommended, of course, people can begin to make journeys home, for example, back to the country they live in, back to their home country for the holiday season. now, a country like france can require a test even for citizens before it allows that, and that is where we are with the negotiations between france and britain. the european commission has made its view clear that some movement should again now be possible, but quite limited and with safeguards. france is now deciding the precise level of safeguards. it said what it wants from its own citizens, that pcr test. it hasn't yet s

kevin connolly there in brussels.a climate emergency, after dire predictions of ‘catastrophic‘ global warming. the secretary general of the united nations has told a climate change virtual summit that ambitious targets are necessary to cut emissions. the uk has now announced an end to support for overseas fossil fuel projects. with more, here's our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt. it is my great pleasure to introduce one of the co—hosts of today's climate... there was none of the pomp and circumstances you would expect of a meeting of dozens of world leaders. this was an entirely virtual summit. mrjohnson opened in characteristic style. we're doing this not because we're hairwearing style. we're doing this not because we're hair wearing tree style. we're doing this not because we're hairwearing tree hugging mung bean munching ego freaks, though i have nothing against any of those categories... he described climate change is a greater threat than covid—i9 and said going green made economic as well as ec

kevin connolly in brussels, keeping his phone switched on all day and night, i suspect.t a site there. you could hardly blame him. let's speak to david henig, uk director at the european centre for international political economy and a former uk trade negotiator. thank you for talking to us. if you we re thank you for talking to us. if you were sitting in lord frost‘s chair right now, or even michel barnier‘s chair right now, would you feel there was any purpose to what you would do? well, it also depends on what kind of decisions have been made by the leaders whether i have any further scope to move. i think both sides do still desperately want to deal. i don't think we would be talking at all if we didn't want to deal, but they have reached stalemate, so i guess it is going through the subjects again, seeing whether there is any pathology that all in different ways that perhaps haven't been gone through yet, that is what we know, neither side wants to walk away yet, and that should at least give us a little bit of hope, still, that they could be a deal. this isn't a de

bbc europe correspondent, kevin connolly, joins us from brussels. so michel barnier continue to talke heard there. but there is no indication of any compromise at all at the moment orare any compromise at all at the moment or are we missing something? we are not missing something but what we need to bear in mind is that we know in broad, brash terms where the problems are. yes, there are bad, future rules that would... but the actual detail of what that means, the numbers on fishing for example, the numbers on fishing for example, the precise proposals on how you synchronise british and european economic standards in the future, we don't really know those areas in any great detail and it is in great detail that fixes will be found. the negotiations have actually been pretty tight. the real detail is known only to a very small number of people, most of them in that negotiating room. they will be the people saying to those political masters whether or not there is any hope for a deal. no one is saying that there is huge hope for a deal. you heard ursula von der leyen bear, she is not s

with the view from london and brussels, here are our correspondents nick eardley and kevin connolly.alks are going to go on for a few hours yet. we know they are into the nitty—gritty. it is really crossing tees and dotting the eyes. the latest we heard is that it is likely to be included in the next few hours and it looks like it will be the morning before we know for sure that the deal is done. it seems to be going that way and i don't think anything has happened that necessarily makes us think that there's not going to be a deal agreed between the eu and the uk in the next few hours. but if you are holding your breath for a deal tonight i think you will be disappointed. it looks like the morning rather than a late one tonight. it's been a rather strange day here not for the first time when that historic agreement has really seemed within touching distance all day but has not quite been touched yet. our understanding is that the small hours of the morning here and that the talking will continue through the night, perhaps, on the vexed question of fisheries but it sums up the state

our europe correspondent, kevin connolly, is in brussels. no real surprise they have approved this?right. the best way to look at this i guess is that it would have been amazing if anything had happened other than them giving their approval. they have been kept in the loop all the way through the negotiating process. so have the governments they represent. so it was never likely that they would do anything than sign off as a formality one of a series of steps you can expect to hearin series of steps you can expect to hear in the coming days, none of which affect the outcome of what is going to happen, that deal that was a achieved on christmas eve. of course no one as ever accused the eu of lacking layers of decision—making, so it may sound confusing, but it is running according to schedule. why is it provisional? it has been to be approved in the new year. the government has warned there'll be some "bumpy moments" for british businesses as they get to grips with new eu trading rules in the new year. ministers are urging companies to use the short time remaining to prepare for the p

our europe correspondent kevin connolly gave me this assessment from brussels.there had been any compromise at all on the eu side. what we need to bear in mind is that we know in broad, brush terms where the problems are. yes, they're about future rules that will govern british access to the single market, they're about fisheries, they're about dispute mechanisms. but the actual detail of what that means, the numbers on fishing, for example, the precise proposals on how you synchronise british and european economic standards in the future, we don't really know those areas in any great detail and it is in great detail that fixes will be found. the negotiations have actually been pretty tight. the real detail is known only to a very small number of people, most of them in that negotiating room. they will be the people saying to their political masters whether or not there is any hope for a deal. no one is saying that there is huge hope for a deal. you heard ursula von der leyen there, she's not saying that they are on the brink of a deal tomorrow. just that it is

let's get the latest from kevin connolly from the bbc in brussels.as being delivered to the negotiators to give them and keep them fed. we thought there might be a deal tonight but it sounds like we will have to wait a while longer. it is been a rather strange day here when that historic agreement has really seems within touching distance all day, but has not quite been touched it. 0ur has not quite been touched it. our understanding is in the small hours of the morning here it is our understanding is that talking will continue through the night, perhaps on the vexed question of fisheries, but it sums up the state of the negotiations come and by their free brought atmosphere around them that when those pizzas we re them that when those pizzas were delivered, there was genuine speculation as to whether there was the keep the negotiators going through the night or whether it was for some kind of celebration because a deal had been done. the senses that is that close, you have to enter the cavity outcome of this is brussels, nothing is done until everyo

kevin connolly is live from brussels.n between what member states can decide on their own and what the european commission recommends. always tension. it's up to member states to decide who comes in and leaves their territory. they remain sovereign states, but the eu institutions try to put a in architecture across that. the european commission is saying after a couple days of emergency measures, there is now no real reason why all planes and trains should be banned from entering the uk. while nonessential travel is strongly not recommended, of course, people can begin to make journeys recommended, of course, people can begin to makejourneys home, for example, back to the country they live in, back to their home country for the holiday season. now, our country like france can require a test for citizens before it allows that, and that is where we are with the negotiations between france and britain. the european commission has made its view clear that some movement should again now be possible, but quite limited and with

kevin connolly has more for us from brussels.today that the french were wary of listing this blockade. but is going to happen? it's very hard to say. what we heard from today here is that the european commission. that has been talking to all the member states and it has been giving something of a mixed message. essentially it has been saying that it is time to get rid of the travel ban but at the same time, there shouldn't be any nonessential travel to the uk. it has been thinking specifically about those truck drivers, about that logjam in dover and calais and it seems to say they're calling a rapid antigen tests. they are the tests can be feasibly done very quickly by a roadside for example. it is still a big logistical challenge but doable. the four if the french insistence is on tests which have to be sent to a laboratory which can take 21148 hrs, and that is a logistical problem of and that is a logistical problem of a whole different order. they are better results. they will not help those people who are currently trapped i

let talk to kevin connolly in brussels. is the deadline the end of the year?ce too far into our hall of mirrors, you can take it to the 31st of december. it's a kind of deadline, i wouldn't put it much further than that. most people here feel if no free trade deal were to be finished by then, you'd start the free trade talks on a different basis simply with the uk no longer being in transition phase. now, there's a lot of legal stuff around this, which is hard to follow. if you wanted to stretch the transition under article 15 of the eu's governing constitutional document, i think that would need to have been agreed last summer. if you want to stretch the negotiating period now and leave the uk and some kind of transition, i think that can be done with a sort of exchange of legal letters, but into the constitutional long grass, the day—to—day politics is hard enough. the message from that ambassador is clearly, a lot of progress has been made, but fisheries remains a problem. of course, when the european side said the uk hasn't moved enough, the uk side would

let us bring in the bbc‘s kevin connolly, who is in brussels., who is in brussels. where our expectations set for dinner?” am sure dinner will be good, in that very narrow sense, expectations are pretty high. i think the political atmosphere around dinner is very ha rd to call atmosphere around dinner is very hard to call because, of course, what we hear from hard to call because, of course, what we hearfrom ursula hard to call because, of course, what we hear from ursula von der leyen and boris johnson what we hear from ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson on the way into this meeting is what you and i have heard in many european summits, which is, we want a deal but we don't want a deal that any price, and that is essentially what they are both still saying. they have their red lines, they have those negotiating points beyond which they cannot afford to go politically, but they have not yet revealed them, and time really now is running out stuff we've been saying for a very long time that diminishing pushes coming to shove, it is all coming d

and let's get the view from the eu now with our europe correspondent kevin connolly, who's in brusselsers? about how ideal may be policed in future and who will decide if there has been a breach of the rules? but i suspect most crucially is this point about to what extent the uk should be able to deviate from eu economic rules in the future. what the eu says is if you want sovereignty, as boris johnson the eu says is if you want sovereignty, as borisjohnson likes to put it, if you want to change the rules in the future, change the rules in the future, change the rules about agricultural standards for example, then you will have a bit less access to the single market. that is the essential haggling ground. it is extremely dense and complicated stuff. if the deal is done, it is going to run to six or 700 pages, don't forget. we are possibly at the very, very last knockings of the negotiations. boris johnson and the president of the european mission ursula von der leyen will take a view of the destiny of the talks later on which doesn't quite say that they will draw stumps on the talks, i

i want to turn to kevin connolly who is with us from brussels.p on some of those lines that our reporter was mentioning there. the eu is advising for member states to be able to lift some of the restrictions. kevin, what do you know? what has changed? some of the restrictions would be right. they're looking at different aspects of this and trying to fix where they can and of course, one of the guiding principles of the eu is freedom of movement. this is about getting people back to their country of residence, getting people home to their own countries, subject to requirements of testing or quarantine, the argument for the eu commission is that that process should begin now. there is a specific nine in their recommendation about movement between france and the uk. that critical economic artery between dover and calais, they are saying that the resumption of freedom of movement as it applies to transport workers, they are saying that where the resumption of freedom of movement of lorry drivers requires a rapid antigen test, in the words of the eu c