During a Delano Live Chat on 29 October, Christophe Hansen, who is the Brexit rapporteur for the European Parliament’s trade committee, reported that the atmosphere among his MEP colleagues was more optimistic than a few weeks ago that a deal could be agreed.

Hansen said that the EU had wanted a longer transition period than the 11 months since Brexit--the UK officially left the EU at midnight on 31 January--to be able to hammer out a deal. “Trade agreements usually are something that is negotiated sometimes over decades.”

Her also addressed the UK’s Internal Market Bill, which the British government has said was created to guarantee the continued seamless functioning of the UK’s internal market but which, by its own admission, breaks international law by overriding parts of the withdrawal agreement it signed with the EU. “Boris Johnson put an atomic bomb on the negotiating table, because for us it is an absolute no-go. It is crucial that the withdrawal agreement is respected to the very last detail,” Hansen told viewers.

Watch the replay:

The MEP, who was elected for the CSV party in the European Parliament elections of June 2019, also talked about the impact of any deal on Luxembourg’s financial centre, as well as the current major sticking points in the negotiations, namely the level playing field and fisheries.

But he ended on an optimistic note, arguing that there are plenty of common challenges, such as the covid-19 health crisis, security and defence and climate change, that cannot be managed in isolation. Both sides will have to work together to find solutions to these. “I still believe in the famous British pragmatism,” Hansen said. “Even if the mood right now, and the common trust, is not at the historic high that is has been.”

On Thursday 5 November, Duncan Roberts will be joined by Pulitzer prizewinning journalist and CEO of VitalBriefing David Schrieberg to analyse the results of the US presidential election. Details will be posted soon.