The UK's chief negotiator, David Frost, announced on Twitter that "a basis for negotiations with the EU has been re-established" and that "intense negotiations" will start every day starting on Thursday afternoon in London.

The decision is a reaction to today's speech by the chief negotiator of the 27, Michel Barnier, in the European Parliament, in which he used a conciliatory tone and acknowledged that compromises will be needed from both sides to reach an agreement.

“I think an agreement is within reach, if we, on both sides, are willing to work constructively and in a spirit of compromise; if we move forward in the next few days, based on legal texts, as we wish,”s aid the Frenchman.

He added that it is necessary that both sides be "prepared to face and resolve the most difficult issues in the coming days", stressing that "time is short, very short”.

"We carefully studied Michel Barnier's statement to the European Parliament this morning. As the EU's chief negotiator, his words are reliable," the Britishgovernment said in a statement.

London claims that Barnier reflected the demands made by Boris Johnson for the EU to fundamentally change its approach and recognize the UK's sovereignty, accepting to change some of its demands.

"It is clear that significant divergences remain between our positions in the most difficult areas, but we are ready, with the EU, to see if it is possible to bridge them in intensive negotiations," adds the statement.

The impasse focuses mainly on three themes: the access of European fishing fleets to British waters, the guarantees demanded by Brussels in terms of competition rules and state support to companies and what is the format of the dispute resolution mechanism in the future.

The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. In accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, it is now officially a third country, so it no longer participates in the EU's decision-making process.

However, by common agreement, the EU and the United Kingdom have decided to establish a transitional period, ending on 31 December 2020, during which it continues to apply the rules of the European bloc and maintains access to the single market.

In the absence of an agreement, customs tariffs will be imposed on trade between the United Kingdom and the European bloc as of January 1, 2021.