Brexit: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to hold 'high level' talks next week

"The best-case scenario would see the pair agree in general terms on a landing zone for the future relationship, giving the negotiations fresh impetus. The worst case would see Johnson collapse the talks in an attempt to distract from domestic criticism over his government's handling of COVID-19," Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform thinktank, said on Friday.

He stressed that neither of these scenarios will decide the eventual outcome of the negotiation and that although "the route towards an agreeable compromise exists", neither side is likely "to commit to finding it until later in the year, when the economic, and political, consequences of the alternative become significantly more tangible."