Merkel says substantial progress need to reach Brexit deal in November

Substantial progress must be made on Brexit by October with a view to wrapping up a deal in November, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at an informal European Union summit on Thursday.

"It was clear today that we need substantial progress by October and that we then aim to finalize everything in November," Merkel said. "We have come a long way already on the exit agreement ... we still have a lot of work to do on the future relationship."