Talks will be concluded, one way or another, today, with some observers still hopeful that a breakthrough can be made over the current sticking points.
Among them is fishing rights, with the UK wanting to “take back control” of its waters, while nations such as France and the Netherlands demand access to fish.
While many inside the bloc are outraged at the UK’s stance, Finnish MEP, Laura Huhtasaari told European Parliament that it was now time for the UK to look after itself and achieve Brexit.
The eurosceptic begged Mr Johnson to take back control of its waters in a stinging attack on Brussels.
She said: “I have a dream. I want all member states to do Brexit. As European People’s Party president Manfred Weber has put it, if Brexit felt like a success, it would be the beginning of the end of the EU.
“So that reveals that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it means that the EU has not even been trying to be fair.”
She added: “I have a message for Boris Johnson – defend your fishing waters. You have now an opportunity to take your sovereignty back. Use it.”
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But both had recently suggested that no deal, which would see the UK trade with the EU on World Trade Organisation terms, is the most likely outcome.
Prime Minister Johnson said: “What I’ve said to our negotiators is that we’ve got to keep going, and we’ll go the extra mile – and we will.
“And I will go to Brussels, I will go to Paris, I will go to Berlin, I will go to wherever to try and get this home and get a deal.
“What I told the Cabinet this evening is to get on and make those preparations. We’re not stopping talks, we’ll continue to negotiate but looking at where we are I do think it’s vital that everyone now gets ready for that Australian option [no deal].”
But the EU’s wishes over fishing were condemned by Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen MP, who told Express.co.uk that agreeing a pact over the waters was absurd.
He added: “It’s like someone renting a property off you, terminating the agreement, and then demanding they keep 80 percent of the back garden.
“Who is going to agree to that? That’s not how it works. It’s absurd.
“There is no court in the world the EU could go to that would uphold their right to keep our sovereign fishing grounds after the EU.”
