Brexit talks close in on tentative deal before summit

BRUSSELS Oct 17: The European Union and Britain inched ever closer to a tentative Brexit deal on Wednesday, with the leaders of France and Germany saying they expected such a deal could be sealed within a day at an EU summit.
Positive vibes radiated from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint news conference in Toulouse, France.

Merkel told reporters that negotiations were “in the final stretch.” Macron said: “I want to believe that a deal is being finalized and that we can approve it” Thursday, when EU leaders are due to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels.

Johnson, meanwhile, likened Brexit to climbing Mount Everest, saying the summit was in sight, though still shrouded in cloud.

Brexit negotiations have been here before — seemingly closing in on a deal that is dashed at the last moment.

But with the Oct. 31 departure date looming and just hours to go before the EU leaders’ summit, hopes were increasingly turning toward getting a broad political commitment, with the full legal details to be hammered out later.

Negotiators were locked inside EU headquarters with few details leaking out. Wild movements in the British pound Wednesday underscored the uncertainty over what, if anything, might finally be decided.