That dinner was still going on just a few moments ago.

Now the long running talks between the UK and you said to be close to failure on the two leaders are trying to break the deadlock.

Before leaving for Brussels, Mr Johnson said the you had made demands that no prime minister off the U.

K could accept the U for its part, said it would soon publish contingency plans in case there's no deal, including measures to keep planes flying between the U.

K and the U.

Our political editor, Laura Ginsburg, has the latest after you Arcila?

No, after you, neither wants to be the first to compromise.

You're the first to call it off E o.

So how can the UK and you move to a deal when they're stuck together in stalemate?

Boris Johnson Brexit means not being told what to do, not just went to put his mask on for the U chiefs, reluctant to let him keep the parks of the club run a tight ship here without following the rules.

And for all the complexity or the months of talks, this is about who is in charge.

Rex.

It's about so much more than symbols, though, but tough legal talk.

The deal was in reach this time last week, Minister DeLeo.

To the prime minister's frustration, some EU countries firmed up their approach and talks hit a wall.

So his vital mission tonight to crank open some space for compromise.

What the two sides have really tangled on is how much they can share the same kinds of rules to trade reliably with each other from January on this particular attention over what happens if things go wrong or one or other side wants to change how they do things in future.

It's not just about polishing a few finer details, but a genuine clash over principles who wields the power in this relationship in the years to come.

And that's why the prime minister has so little public appetite to be the one who backs down.

Our friends in the EU are currently insisting that if they pass a new law in the future with which we in this country do not comply or don't follow suit.

Then they want the automatic right Mr Speaker toe to punish us on bond to retaliate.

And I don't believe this is because that those air terms that any prime minister of this country should accept the labor leader stuck in covert isolation simply wants the prime minister to push on whatever may happen in the next few days.

There's no doubting that his incompetence has held Britain back.

So would he end this Gerard in the uncertainty?

Get the deal that he promised and allow the country to move on?

Easier to say than to Dio, You might not want to believe it.

But ministers air adamant that a deal can be struck here if they don't budge.

For the U chief, though, that means juggling 27 countries demands chief among them from the top leader, among them preserving their huge shared economy.

There are scenarios where we can't accept British conditions, Angela Merkel said.

The integrity of the U market must be preserved to get a deal.

Neither the UK nor the you can keep everything they want.

What will lose on who will win may not yet be decided yet when it comes on, dit will soon.

The choice to agree or to walk away will be one that defines not just this prime minister, but what happens to the country to us all.

And you are of years tonight.

By now don't need much reminding about the fact that both sides definitely do want to deal.

That's been their stated aim all throughout this.

Probably everyone doesn't need reminding either why it matters so much.

You know, we've left the European Union, but we've been in the departure lounge for the whole year, really that status quo, the transition period.

But that runs out in three weeks.

On without a deal, there could be a really period of disruption, real questions about a hit to the economy, real questions about what happens about our security, and the list goes on and on.

That is why tonight, the stakes are so high on that is why even three hours in it's really the case that everybody is waiting with bated breath to see what comes out of that room where the two leaders have bean having dinner.

The expectation going into that meeting tonight was the best case scenario would be that they'd be able to find a nudge and a wink.

Thio let the negotiators meet again tomorrow to try again to see if they can grind out a compromise of the rial clash of principles here.

No one was expecting at the beginning off the night that there was going to be anything like a big bust up, but with total radio silence, we just don't know yet what really has been going on behind closed doors in Brussels.

If anything happens in the next 20 minutes or so, we'll be sure to bring you it straight away.

Laura.

Many thanks, Laura there at Westminster.

Well, let's go to Brussels and see what's going on because our Europe editor catch it at that as ever, is monitoring events for us there.

Catch it.

What are you picking up?

So, Hugh, just a few moments ago, I was hearing from that building you can see behind me.

That's the European Commission building where the prime minister is having dinner with us.

La Fonda Lion I had that dinner was expected to wrap up soon on whether we'd have a statement after it, a joint statement or otherwise would depend on the mood in the room.

Of course, we don't know right now what that mood would be normally in negotiations at this stage, you'd expect those T leaders to say, Look, time's running out.

We've looked into the white of the eyes, each other's eyes for long enough.

It's time to make the difficult political compromises to reach a deal.

But in this case, it's not a simpler saying.

I'll give you a bit of this if you give me a bit of that on.

That is because of this fundamental clash of ideologies that we've had in these talks right from the beginning.

For the government, it's about national sovereignty.

After Brexit, they say, We don't want to sign up to another rule book with Brussels after Brexit.

We don't want to sign up to new competition regulations, but the EU priority is to protect its single market and the businesses in it.

That's why they're insisting on those rules.

So what do we think could have been going on in there?

We know that both the prime minister and also love Underline said they wanted a deal.

We know neither will want to be blamed if a deal actually doesn't take place, so the prediction is neither breakthrough nor break up tonight.

Tomorrow, the day after the time to talk hasn't quite run out yet.

Catchy.

Thanks if there's a development, will come back to you straightaway, but for now, thank you.

Now supermarkets are being given three months to prepare for additional checks on goods being transported to Northern Ireland from Britain after the Brexit transition period ends.

The agreement reached by the UK and EU is designed to stop food supplies being disrupted next year.

Now, when the transition period ends on New Year's Eve, England, Scotland and Wales will leave the EU single market for goods.

But Northern Ireland, in effect, will not.

At the moment, there are hardly any checks on goods traveling between Britain and Northern Ireland.

But from January, the first deal or no deal there will be new rules governing trade across the Irish Sea, which all companies involved will need to get used to Our island.

Correspondent Emma Body explains a little more.

Becoming cut off from Great Britain through new Brexit red tape was one of the biggest fears for businesses in Northern Ireland because food exported over the Irish Sea way, subject to new checks.

Once Northern Ireland becomes a gateway to the EU now, supermarkets will have an extra few months to get their paperwork in order.

But smaller companies is still awaiting answers.

Retailers like myself probably a third of our business in December for Christmas.

We just have not had a chance to look, You know what's happened and Brexit.

You know, we're just trying to get over the year recovered.

The new rules on bringing products into Northern Ireland will apply whether there's a trade deal or not.

Today's announcements make the picture a little clearer for companies and what they're having to gear up for.

But make no mistake, thistle still amounts to a huge shift in the trading status of Northern Ireland for years to come.

Today, Michael Gove tried to reassure traders that there would be no disruption to food supplies.

British sausages will continue to make their way to Belfast Ballymena in the New year on, we've also got time for reciprocal agreements between the U.

K and the U on agrifood, which could be discussed in the months ahead.

It was welcomed by supermarkets after previous warnings.

The changes could have limited the range of goods they sent to Northern Ireland shelves.

We've been preparing for the worst.

So, frankly, you know, if there had been no deal, we were confident we would have been able to continue to supply our stores in Northern Ireland.

But obviously this should make it easier for manufacturers that bring raw materials over the Irish Sea.

Some relief today that new tariffs will be minimized.

But like this firm, which makes plastic goods from hairbrushes, toe airplane parts, the real challenges dealing with new documentation over where their products are sold on what difference does, he added, Paperwork make to your business?

Well, if bureaucracy.

We think it's one thing to go into the major burdens of Brexit.

Unfortunately, we understood that from the start on, that is indeed a cost burden for business on the tracking interests required to understand where materials are actually consumed, in which the products and then ultimately, which markets to which they're sold into.

That's a very complex process.

There are just 22 days left before the Brexit transition period ends, but even then, it's not the final destination.

All these new trading arrangements for Northern Ireland will continue to evolve well into the future.

Mm body BBC News with me is our economics editor, Faisal Islam.

Let's think about the main thing that will be discussed.

We think of this dinner in Brussels what people call the level playing field.

What do we understand by that?

So I think the prime minister and Chancellor Merkel sort of let the cat out of the bag that the main issue here is the detail on the strength of what we're talking about, this level playing field.

The principle of it has been accepted in the negotiations.

I understand.

And that means that the standards that we share as a member of the U.

U K and the U they form a floor those standards over the environment over climate change over workers rights.

They form a floor on if either side go below that by allowing their companies to pollute mawr or perhaps pay their workers less to get an advantage that the other side can punish them, penalize them with taxes.

I don't know in British cars or on French wine, so that's been negotiated.

The bone of contention here is a big one is what happens in the future.

So if you increases its regulations on the environment, for example, on the proposal, the table right now would say, If the UK doesn't follow it, then those same penalties can apply on Boris.

Boris Johnson.

Prime Minister railed against that today.

Now there is a compromise, which is this so called ratchet.

If both sides agree, then that forms the new base Onda.

That was what was suggested by the U A few months back.

So you stand back from this and what you have is an argument about potential hypothetical future trade tariffs.