Lucinda Creighton: Johnson’s survival instinct is the best hope for a deal being done

The seeds of a deal are there and, with a little give and take, a deal can be done between the UK and EU. In the background, Angela Merkel’s skills at forging compromise may well be crucial

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission: Johnson’s decision to travel to Brussels for dinner with Von der Leyen earlier this week is likely a sign he wants to do a deal

It is not over until the fat lady sings. While 1,633 days have passed since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, and only 18 days remain until the transition phase ends, it seems the corpulent chanteuse is still only warming up her vocal chords.

All difficult political negotiations in and with the European Union go down to the wire. It has almost become a tradition, but there is no doubt that in ...