LONDON: EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that the UK and EU do not have time to agree on terms on post-Brexit trade arrangements.

The two sides recently sent conflicting messages about the possibility of a trade deal being approved before Britain leaves the EU’s orbit within two weeks.

Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday, Barnier said the talks had reached the moment of truth.

“If we want the agreement to come into force on January 1, we have only a short time left to work through these negotiations,” Barner said.

“It is possible to get a contract, but the path to such an agreement is very narrow.”

An agreement will guarantee tariff-free trade between the UK and the European Union after December 31, but Major disputes over issues such as fisheries Plague discussions will continue in the coming weeks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von Der Lane stepped down following a phone call on Thursday night. Johnson commented that the deal would not have been possible if the group had not been willing to make concessions to the fishery. At the same time, von der Lane agreed that a deal at this stage would be very challenging.

It came a day later Von der Lane declared “the narrow path.” Both parties had come forward to approve an agreement before the deadline.

SterlingThe dollar fell 0.3 percent to close at $ 1.3540 during trading on Friday morning in London, which had rallied in recent days on optimism that a damaging “no deal” could be avoided.