'Landing zone' opens up for London and Brussels to reach Brexit deal

AMID all the pessimistic mood music of July's intensive rounds of Brexit talks, which concluded on Friday, a key, under-reported story is emerging. For despite continuing European Union-United Kingdom tensions, bilateral differences are narrowing to the point that a trade deal could be agreed in coming weeks.

Both sides made important concessions in recent days, despite the negative vibes surrounding the talks. On the EU's side, chief negotiator Michel Barnier indicated that the trade agreement's enforcement mechanism body could be an institution other than the European Court of Justice, which is intensely controversial with Brexiteers.

Meanwhile, Mr Barnier's UK counterpart David Frost signalled a new willingness on the British end to abandon the UK's hope of securing a series of sectoral treaties, rather than one all-encompassing agreement. The latter is favoured by Brussels based upon its complex, and sometimes challenging relationship with Switzerland centred around dozens of treaties across various topics.