BRUSSELS/LONDON • London and Brussels have agreed to "go the extra mile" in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent no-deal exit for Britain from the European Union at the end of the month.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen had given negotiators a deadline of yesterday to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU's single market.

They have now mandated their negotiators to continue.

"Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile," Mr Johnson and Dr von der Leyen said in a joint statement.

Britain left the EU in January but remains an informal member until Dec 31 - the end of a transition period during which it has remained in the EU single market and Customs union.

Mr Johnson said the two sides would try to be as creative as possible, but Britain could not compromise on key red lines.

A final Brexit without a trade deal would damage the economies of Europe, send shock waves through financial markets, snarl borders and sow chaos through the delicate supply chains across Europe and beyond.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "Every opportunity to reach a deal is highly welcome."

The two sides have struggled to agree on fishing rights in British waters and EU demands that Britain face consequences if in the future it diverges from the bloc's rules for fair competition - what it calls a level playing field.

Said one EU diplomat: "They are making some inroads on difficult stuff. How to manage divergence and soften the blows for (EU) fishermen is still open."

EU diplomats told Reuters that if there was no time for a deal to be approved by the EU Parliament, the bloc's member states could endorse an agreement reached by negotiators to allow for "provisional application".

The British government has warned that even with a trade deal, 7,000 trucks heading for Channel ports in south-east England could be held in 100km queues if companies do not prepare the extra paperwork required.

Long queues of trucks had already started forming last week at the English port of Dover.

Logistics groups have reported surging demand from companies trying to bring in parts, goods and food before Dec 31.

Highways England, the authority managing the country's land transport, also said there were high volumes of freight traffic heading towards the port of Dover and that lorries had been backed up along some roads to prevent it from becoming overwhelmed.

British ministers have also warned supermarkets to stockpile food amid fears of shortages, Britain's The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Ministers have told suppliers of medicines, medical devices and vaccines to stockpile six weeks' worth at secure locations in the country, the report added.

Britain, however, is expected to fast-track the movement of some perishable goods, such as seafood, when the transition period ends.

The Ministry of Defence said four Royal Navy patrol ships will be ready on Jan 1 to help protect Britain's fishing waters in the event of no-deal.

There are concerns about possible skirmishes between British and foreign fishing vessels under that scenario because existing rules that give EU boats access to British waters will expire.

European Council president Charles Michel told France Inter radio the bloc would keep its cool.

France also shrugged off the naval deployment plans.

"Keep calm and carry on," an official at the French presidential office said last Saturday, using a British wartime slogan.

REUTERS

Britain and EU agree to 'go the extra mile' to seal deal

Trucks lining up to enter the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone in Kent, England, on Friday. London and Brussels agreed yesterday to "go the extra mile" to try to reach an elusive trade agreement before Dec 31, when the Brexit transition period ends, to prevent border chaos that would disrupt shipments of food, goods and parts.