EU's Barnier says still risk of Brexit cliff edge at end of 2020

Businesses still face the risk of a cliff-edge Brexit at the end of the year given the short time available to negotiate a future trading relationship between Britain and the European Union, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator said on Monday.

"This negotiation is not usual because, at the end of this year, the UK is leaving the single market, it is its choice, it is leaving the customs union," Michel Barnier told a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

"If we have no agreement, it will not be business as usual and the status quo, we have to face the risk of a cliff edge, in particular for trade."