Why are Downing Street and the EU striking different tones about Brexit progress?
Michel Barnier suggests agreement in sight as No. 10 warns of no-deal

Depending on who you believe, a Brexit deal may be just around the corner - or just a fading dream.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that there had been “movement” in the negotiations following the extension of Sunday’s deadline for reaching a future trade agreement.
“This is the architecture we are building,” she told an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference in Paris. “We are fine about the architecture itself, but the details in it - do they really fit? These are crucial points.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Von der Leyen’s cautiously optimistic tone was shared by Michel Barnier. The EU’s chief negotiator reportedly told the bloc’s ambassadors that a “narrow path” leading to a deal remained open, while also “warning that success would hinge on breakthroughs on difficult issues, including EU fishing rights”, says the Financial Times.
The mood in the UK camp appears to be significantly different, however.
A government source told the BBC on Monday that the negotiating teams had not made any “significant progress”. The leak came a day after Boris Johnson warned that “the most likely thing now is that we do have to get ready for WTO terms”.
But despite all the talk in London about a no-deal exit, The Times’ policy editor Oliver Wright suggests that Johnson’s “gloomy public prognosis is less aimed at the EU and more for domestic consumption”.
The prime minister’s “greatest fear” is that “many businesses who deal with the EU have simply not appreciated the scale of the things they need to do even if an agreement is reached with Brussels”, according to Wright.
“By playing up the threat of no deal - which businesses know will lead to disruption - Johnson is hoping to spur them into last-minute action which will be beneficial even if there is a deal.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
July 16 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include the Epstein files landing on everyone's summer reading list, and the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
-
Viktor Orban: is time up for Europe's longest-serving premier?
Today's Big Question Hungarian PM's power is under threat 'but not in the way – or from the people – one might expect'
-
Viktor Orban: is time up for Europe's longest-serving premier?
Today's Big Question Hungarian PM's power is under threat 'but not in the way – or from the people – one might expect'
-
Entente cordiale: will state visit help UK-French relations get over Brexit?
Today's Big Question The King, a keen Francophile who has a warm relationship with Emmanuel Macron, will play a key role in state visit
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
Brexit 'reset' deal: how will it work?
In Depth Keir Stamer says the deal is a 'win-win', but he faces claims that he has 'surrendered' to Brussels on fishing rights
-
Are we entering the post-Brexit era?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer's 'big bet' with his EU reset deal is that 'nobody really cares' about Brexit any more
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Can Starmer sell himself as the 'tough on immigration' PM?
Today's Big Question Former human rights lawyer 'now needs to own the change – not just mouth the slogans' to win over a sceptical public