A leading contender to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused opponents of “mudslinging” as the Conservative Party contest turns nasty.

Conservative lawmakers in Britain have knocked another contender out of the contest to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Tiger Woods considers the British Open at St. Andrews to be a historic occasion.

A Texas grand jury has indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice that spread nationwide after the killing of George Floyd, according to people familiar with the matter.

Britain’s foreign minister has expressed optimism that there is a “deal to be done” to resolve a Northern Ireland trade dispute that has soured the U.K.’s relations with the European Union.

Top negotiators from Britain and the European Union are meeting in hopes of resolving their a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the appointment of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to become lead negotiator with the European Union.

A senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet has resigned, adding to a sense of disarray within a government that has faced rebellion from his own lawmakers and voters this week.

Britain’s top Brexit official has lowered the temperature in the U.K.’s trade feud with the European Union, saying he believes it is possible to reach agreement with the bloc.

The United Kingdom has rejected European Union proposals to streamline the trade of goods in Northern Ireland as insufficient.

French trawler owners in Normandy have reacted with confusion and consternation after President Emmanuel Macron extended a deadline for the British government to license more French fishing vessels or face consequences.

Britain is issuing a warning over talks to resolve post-Brexit trade troubles with the European Union.

The Brexit brawl has kicked into high gear, almost a year after a deal on a free trade agreement was supposed to have officially sealed the separation between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The great Brexit brawl is heading into its next standoff as European Union concessions to improve trade in Northern Ireland are likely to be deemed insufficient by the United Kingdom.

The European Union and Britain are back to quarreling less than a year after finalizing Brexit.

Britain’s Brexit minister has threatened to trigger a contentious break clause in the U.K.’s divorce deal with the European Union.

Britain says it is delaying the start of post-Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union.

Britain says it is postponing the start of post-Brexit border checks on goods going to Northern Ireland, as it seeks breathing space in its tense standoff with the European Union over trade rules.

Britain’s Brexit minister has warned of a long-term chill in relations between the U.K. and the European Union if previously agreed trading arrangements governing Northern Ireland are not resolved.

Tense post-Brexit relations between Britain and the European Union are facing further strain and drawing a message of concern from Washington.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have agreed not to let a fight over the transport of chilled meats from Britain to Northern Ireland sputter out of control for the moment and further damage already fraught relations between the two.

Five years ago Wednesday, Britons voted in a referendum that was meant to bring certainty to the U.K.’s unsettled relationship with its European neighbors, but it most certainly did not.

A senior European Union official has expressed frustration after talks with the U.K. broke up without resolving differences over the implementation of their post-Brexit trade deal in Northern Ireland.

The U.K.’s chief negotiator called on the European Union to show “pragmatism and common sense,” instead of threatening to retaliate, as the two sides meet to resolve differences over the deal that was supposed to keep trade flowing after Brexit.

Britain’s Brexit minister says post-Brexit relations between the U.K. and the European Union are likely to be “bumpy" for some time.

The U.K. government says it is postponing full border controls until Jan. 1, six months later than planned, because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The U.K. government says it is postponing full border controls until Jan. 1, six months later than planned, because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. AdNorthern Ireland continues to follow EU trade rules in order to preserve its open border with Ireland, a member of the bloc. “For all that we need to have high levels of trust — mutual trust,” he said. AdThis week, European Council President Charles Michel claimed the U.K. had imposed an “outright ban” on coronavirus vaccine exports.

European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic speaks during a media conference, after a General Affairs Council meeting, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said in a statement that UK's decision to unilaterally extend a grace period on checks for goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland amounts to “a violation" of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. The Protocol was designed to ensure an open border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic after Brexit. The sensitivity of Northern Ireland’s status was underscored earlier this year when the EU threatened to ban shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland as part of moves to shore up the bloc’s supply. Šefčovič held discussions Wednesday with cabinet minister David Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator now responsible for EU relations.

UK chief trade negotiator David Frost looks on as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London Wednesday Dec. 30, 2020. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)BRUSSELS – Britain’s Parliament voted resoundingly on Wednesday to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the U.K.’s long and divisive Brexit journey. With just a day to spare, lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 521-73 in favor of the agreement sealed between the U.K. government and the EU last week. She noted that the deal protected trade in goods but did not cover services, which account for 80% of Britain's economy. “We have a deal in trade, which benefits the EU, but not a deal in services, which would have benefitted the U.K.," May said.

European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier talks to the media outside the EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)BRUSSELS – European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Monday he still has the firm belief that a Brexit trade agreement is possible, and whittled the outstanding disputes to be settled ahead of the New Year to just two. It highlighted that just as EU fishermen crave to continue working in British waters, the U.K. seafood industry is extremely dependent on exports into the 27-nation bloc. Johnson has made fisheries and U.K. control over its waters a key demand in the long saga of leaving the EU. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/BrexitJ

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives to deliver a statement at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (Olivier Hoslet/Pool Photo via AP)BRUSSELS – Teetering on the brink of a no-deal Brexit departure, Britain and the European Union stepped back from the void Sunday and agreed to continue trade talks, although both downplayed the chances of success. U.K. and EU negotiators were still talking at EU headquarters on Sunday, with less than three weeks to go until the U.K. leaves the economic embrace of the 27-nation bloc. What we want is a good deal, a deal that respects these principles of economic fair play." Tariffs will be applied to many U.K. goods, including 10% on cars and more than 40% on lamb, hurting the U.K. economy as it struggles to rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

European Union flags flutter in the wind prior to a meeting of Britain's chief negotiator David Frost and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier at EU headquarters in Brussels, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. If there remain major issues with legal oversight of any trade deal and standards of fair play the UK needs to meet to be able to export in the EU, fisheries appears to move toward some sense of compromise. While the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union through Dec. 31. A second issue is that the EU wants the toughest legal checks possible on Britain respecting any deal that emerges. The EU has demanded widespread access to U.K. fishing grounds that historically have been open to foreign trawlers.

(Julien Warnand)LONDON – The European Union and the United Kingdom decided Saturday to press on with negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal, with all three key issues still unresolved ahead of a year-end cutoff. While the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union through Dec. 31. The talks would surely have collapsed by now, were the interests and economic costs at stake not so massive. “Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved,” von der Leyen and Johnson said Saturday. The EU has demanded widespread access to U.K. fishing grounds that historically have been open to foreign trawlers.

With less than one month to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, talks are continuing, and U.K. officials have said this is the last week to strike a deal. U.K. officials briefed media outlets that the EU had set back negotiations by making last-minute demands — an allegation the bloc denied. Any deal must be approved by lawmakers in Britain and the EU before year’s end. If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.

With less than two months to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, trade deal talks resume in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)LONDON – The British government told businesses on Tuesday to make sure they are ready for big changes when the U.K. makes its final Brexit break from the European Union in exactly a month. Talks are continuing, and U.K. officials have said this is the last week to strike a deal. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU. But firms that trade with the EU say they still don’t know what conditions they will face in a month’s time.

Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)LONDON – Britain’s foreign minister said Sunday there is only about a week left for the U.K. and the European Union to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, with fishing rights the major obstacle to an agreement. EU countries want their boats to be able to keep fishing in British waters, while the U.K. insists it must control access and quotas. “On fisheries, there is a point of principle: As we leave the transition, we are an independent coastal state and we’ve got to be able to control our waters,” Raab said. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.

LONDON – Teams from Britain and the European Union resumed face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal Saturday, with both sides sounding gloomy about striking an agreement in the little time that remains. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier returned to London to meet his U.K. counterpart David Frost. If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU. The U.K. claims the EU is failing to respect its independence and making demands it has not placed on other countries with whom it has free trade deals, such as Canada.

BRUSSELS – With the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier in quarantine, trade talks with the United Kingdom continued by videoconference this week, though the optimism expressed last week seemed to have faded. The talks were shifted to a videoconference last week when an EU official tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing Barnier into a quarantine until at least Thursday. The U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31 but remains in its trade relations with the EU until the end of this year. Both sides hope to get a trade deal in time to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs that could be affected if the trade agreements lapse with no deal on future ties. The EU fears Britain will slash social and environmental standards, and pump state money into U.K. industries, becoming a low-regulation economic rival on the bloc’s doorstep.

The Brexit trade negotiations have been suspended Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, at a crucial stage because an EU negotiator has tested positive for the coronavirus and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that we have decided to suspend the negotiations at our level for a short period. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, FILE)BRUSSELS – As if the Brexit trade negotiations were not tortuous enough, the coronavirus added a twist at a crucial stage on Thursday when top-level talks had to be suspended because an EU negotiator tested positive for COVID-19. It added uncertainty to the negotiations as a deadline looms ever closer and both sides are still divided on three key issues. Only on Wednesday a top European Union official said that trade talks with the United Kingdom still face “substantial work” that might spill over into next week. Both sides had hoped to get a trade deal by then to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses that could suffer if Brexit leads to a sharp end to existing trade relations.

(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)BRUSSELS – European Union and British negotiators on Monday entered yet another tension-filled week as they sought a belated post-Brexit trade deal that needs to be vetted and get legislative approval before a Jan. 1 cutoff date. The U.K. already left the EU on Jan. 31, but a transition period when EU rules apply to trade and other issues runs until the end of next month. Both sides had hoped to get a trade deal by then to save hundreds of thousands of jobs that could be at stake if Brexit amounts to a brutal cliff edge divorce. And the EU insisted that it wouldn't be forced into any deal because of time pressure. At some point, it will come to EU and UK leaders to settle the final divisive issues.

Negotiations continue on London between the EU bloc and British officials to agree A Brexit deal as Britain is due to split from Europe from January 1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)LONDON – The U.K.’s chief Brexit negotiator said Sunday before renewed talks that a trade deal with the European Union may not succeed, but he was still hopeful of a resolution. The two sides are trying to strike a new trade deal before then, but key sticking points such as fishing rights and competition rules haven't been resolved. A failure to strike a deal will hurt both sides, with businesses facing tariffs and other barriers to trade starting on Jan. 1. ___Follow all developments on the Brexit trade negotiations at https://apnews.com/Brexit

European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier arrives for Brexit talks at the Conference Centre in London, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. With less than two months to go before the U.K. exits the EU's economic orbit, trade deal talks resume in London on Monday. The Internal Market Bill gives the U.K. power to override sections of the agreement dealing with Northern Ireland trade. Environment Secretary George Eustice said that fears the bill could lead to border checks between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — something that could undermine Northern Ireland peace — were unfounded. Although Johnson said Sunday that a trade deal is “there to be done,” Frost and Barnier have both warned that serious “divergences” remain.

Her successor, Johnson, secured his own withdrawal agreement with the EU in October 2019, allowing for the U.K. to leave on Jan. 31. The two sides are hoping to agree a free trade deal with no tariffs and no quotas. So it is demanding strict legal guarantees on the governance of any trade deal. The EU fears Britain will slash social and environmental standards and pump state money into U.K. industries, becoming a low-regulation economic rival on the bloc’s doorstep. As well as the economic impact, a no-deal exit would endanger everything from U.K. police forces’ access to EU crime databases to U.K.-EU cooperation in science.

Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. The U.K. government says the bill is needed as an insurance policy to ensure smooth trade among all parts of the U.K. no matter what happens after Brexit. The legislation has soured talks between Britain and the EU on a new trade deal. U.K.-EU talks ground to a halt last week, with each side calling for the other to compromise in order to secure agreement. He told British businesses to prepare for a no-deal economic break with the EU at the end of the year.

Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)LONDON – Britain and the European Union edged toward resuming their troubled trade talks on Monday, after the bloc's chief negotiator said he was ready to “intensify” negotiations on the legal text of an agreement. Britain and the EU have been attempting to strike a new trade deal since the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31. He told British businesses to prepare for a no-deal economic break with the EU at the end of the year. The bill soured talks aimed at securing a new trade deal between Britain and the EU.

Britains foreign minister says there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union. The EU said it was ready to continue negotiating, but Britain declared the talks as good as dead. “The trade talks are over," Johnson's spokesman James Slack said. While Australia has no comprehensive trade deal with the EU, Johnson insisted Britain would “prosper mightily” under those conditions, which would mean tariffs and other barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner. The EU says Britain can’t have the same trade terms as Canada because of its proximity to the bloc and its economic clout.

LONDON – Herbert Kretzmer, the journalist and lyricist best known for his English-language adaptation of the musical Les Miserables, has died. Tributes poured in from giants of the London stage, including theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, singer Elaine Paige and lyricist Tim Rice. Les Miserables producer Mackintosh said Kretzmer was instrumental in bringing Victor Hugo's classic tale of defiance and redemption in early 19th century France to the stage in English in October 1985, five years after it had opened in Paris. Until a young British producer by the name of Cameron Mackintosh invited Kretzmer to tea in June 1984 and his life changed. Though the expanded English version of Les Miserables — it was never Les Mis for Kretzmer — had mixed reviews at the start, it would soon become one of the biggest successes of 20th century theater.

EU nations are already looking to the end of the month, when they see the ultimate deadline for an agreement if they still want to get it through legal vetting and parliamentary approvals before the deadline of Jan. 1. A trade deal for the EU and the recently departed U.K. has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of jobs and not exacerbate the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The EU says Britain is trying to retain the advantages of EU membership without the commitment to play by the bloc's rules. Johnson says the EU must shift its position if it wants a deal, and insists the U.K. is quite prepared to walk away without one. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit

Now, the end of a transition period is drawing close and both sides have to decide what kind of trade deal, if any, they want. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long billed the two-day EU summit that starts Thursday as an ultimate deadline. On Monday, Johnson's spokesman said the U.K. still viewed this week's talks as crucial. After months of talks, Britain and the EU appear to remain deadlocked on the key issues of fishing and rules to ensure fair economic competition. ___Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit.

(Brian Lawless/PA via AP)BRUSSELS – The European Union finally sees progress in trade talks with the United Kingdom, but insists a momentary change in mood between the oft-bickering sides is no guarantee that an agreement will be delivered on time, officials said Thursday. “I would say that the mood appears to have changed," Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said when he hosted European Council President Charles Michel. It does need substance to follow the mood," he added, urging the negotiators meeting in London this week to speed up progress. In diplomatic delegations in Brussels where member states eagerly follow the talks EU negotiator Michel Barnier has with his counterpart David Frost, there is the same sense of change in the air. In London, the government said the talks would go on straight through to next week's EU summit.

At center on screen is EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier joining by videoconference. After a short meeting between the two sides in Brussels, U.K. Brexit planning minister Michael Gove said Britain wouldn't withdraw its Internal Market Bill, which includes clauses to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal treaty. “Those clauses will remain in that bill” as a safety net in case the U.K. and the EU don't reach a trade agreement, Gove said. The rift means that talks between the two sides' trade negotiators will begin Tuesday under an ominous cloud. Sefcovic warned Monday that Britain shouldn't try to use the withdrawal agreement and its Northern Ireland provisions as “a bargaining chip” in trade negotiations.

Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit preparations, described that as a reasonable worst-case scenario in a letter to logistics firms. “This could lead to maximum queues of 7,000 port-bound trucks in Kent and associated maximum delays of up to two days,” the document said. Even with a deal, Britain will be leaving the bloc’s single market and customs union, meaning some new checks and trade barriers. Without a deal there will be much greater disruption, with the U.K. and the EU having to slap tariffs on each others’ goods. But negotiators remain at loggerheads on key issues, especially European fishing boats’ access to U.K. waters and competition rules for businesses.

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019 file photo, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair, left and John Major attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall in London. One major element of the Brexit withdrawal agreement is the section related to ensuring an open border on the island of Ireland to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland. The issue proved thorny during the more than two years of discussions it took to get a Brexit deal done, as the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is the only land link between the U.K. and the EU. As a result, the two sides agreed there would be some kind of regulatory border between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. Major and Blair, who both vociferously opposed Brexit, said the planned legislation puts the 1998 Good Friday agreement that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland at risk.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street to attend the weekly session of Prime Ministers Questions in Parliament in London. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has strongly defended his controversial plan to override sections of the Brexit deal that he negotiated with the European Union, arguing that the bloc has an extreme interpretation of the treaty that could jeopardize the future of the U.K. With the government showing no sign of changing course, there are real concerns that ongoing talks on a future trade deal between the U.K. and the EU could collapse within weeks. If that happens, tariffs and other impediments to trade will be imposed by both sides at the start of 2021. As a result, the two sides agreed there would be some kind of regulatory border between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

UK and EU officials begin the eighth round of Brexit negotiations in London. Britains decision to break international law by overwriting part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement has alarmed European leaders and threatens to scuttle the fragile negotiations on future U.K.-EU relations, which are ongoing simultaneously in the British capital. Huebner warned that undermining the withdrawal agreement would pose a serious threat to lasting peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland." It says it's doing so in order to protect the peace agreement in the event there is no deal with the EU. The withdrawal agreement is not open for renegotiation and we expect that the letter and the spirit of the withdrawal agreement will be fully respected, Sefcovic said.

FILE - In this Friday, June 5, 2020 file photo, European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gives a news conference after Brexit talks, in Brussels, Belgium. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP, File)LONDON The U.K.s chief negotiator in post-Brexit trade talks called for more realism from the European Union ahead of the start Tuesday of another round of discussions between the two sides. With expectations of a breakthrough in the talks diminishing, there are concerns that they could collapse in the coming weeks. The two sides have been negotiating future trade ties over the past few months but progress has been minimal. The EU side will be led by its long-time Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

The comments show growing signs that trust between the two sides is evaporating ahead of another round of Brexit trade talks Tuesday in London. Monday's developments prompted widespread selling of the British pound as traders priced in a growing likelihood that the trade talks could be heading for collapse. During this transition period, the U.K. remains within the EUs economic orbit, benefiting from frictionless and tariff-free trade. For the U.K. and the EU to find compromises on the sticking points, both sides must work to build trust, he said. __Follow all AP stories about Brexit and British politics at https://apnews.com/Brexit.

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, United Kingdom's Brexit envoy David Frost arrives at EU headquarters in Brussels. Britains chief Brexit negotiator Frost is quoted in a newspaper Sunday Sept. 6, 2020, saying Britain wants to get back the powers to control our borders and that is the most important thing, as he talks tough ahead of crucial Brexit trade talks, saying the U.K. was not afraid to walk away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, FILE)LONDON Britains chief Brexit negotiator talked tough ahead of a crucial round of post-Brexit trade talks, saying the U.K. was not afraid to walk away if the European Union does not give ground on key issues. The key sticking points are European boats access to U.K. fishing waters and state aid to industries. Both sides have downplayed the chances of a deal, though some of that rhetoric is muscle-flexing before crucial weeks of talks.

European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier waits for start of a meeting on further Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, June 29, 2020. European Union and U.K. negotiators resumed in-person talks on a post-Brexit trade deal on Monday, with both sides insisting that the process must accelerate markedly if they're to reach an agreement by the end of the year. It means that we need to intensify the negotiations, EU Council President Charles Michel said on June 19, after chairing a summit of the blocs leaders. The parties disagree notably on regulations for businesses and for the fishing industry, with the U.K. firmly opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said a trade deal remains possible if there is compromise on fisheries.

Peoples’ film will debut Friday on-demand on Juneteenth, the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. “Miss Juneteenth” isn’t about that history but the contemporary African American struggle to remain in the middle class. — AP Film Writer Jake CoyleMUSICBob Dylan: It’s been eight years since the legend Bob Dylan released an album of original material. Neil Young: Neil Young also has a new album out on Friday, though he finished it 45 years ago. And two days later on Father’s Day, Legend will host the variety special “John Legend and Family: A Bigger Love Father’s Day” (ABC, 8 p.m. EDT).

The EU and Britain disagree notably on regulations for businesses and for the fishing industry in particular, with the U.K. adamantly opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters. Last week, the EU and the U.K. agreed to intensify their negotiations following another inconclusive round of discussions. The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on Jan. 31 but remains inside the EUs tariff-free economic zone until the end of the year. European Council President Charles Michel and David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, will attend Monday's meeting alongside von der Leyen. Britains Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit preparations, and David Frost, the U.K chief negotiator, are set to assist Johnson.

The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on Jan. 31, but it remains inside the EU's tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of the year. Frost repeated once again that the U.K. will not request an extension. Three rounds of talks have failed to produce much headway, notably around fishing rights. The U.K. wants a fisheries deal to be a standalone agreement whereby the two sides negotiate access and quotas. The EU, for its part, has sought to link fisheries to other trade issues.