UK chief Brexit negotiator says he expects deal by Nov 21

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Brexit secretary has told lawmakers that he expects a long-elusive divorce deal with the European Union to be finalized before Nov. 21, though there is still little sign of a breakthrough on the vexed issue of the Irish border.

Dominic Raab told Parliament's Exiting the EU Committee that he will give evidence to them "when a deal is finalized, and currently expect 21 November to be suitable."

Raab's Oct. 24 letter was released by the committee on Wednesday.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but London and Brussels have not reached an agreement on their divorce terms and a smooth transition to a new relationship. The stalemate has heightened fears that the U.K. might leave without a deal in place, leading to chaos at ports and economic turmoil.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said a divorce deal is 95 percent done, but the two sides still have a gap over the issue of the border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

Britain and the EU agree there must be no customs posts or other barriers that could disrupt businesses and residents on both sides of the border and undermine Northern Ireland's hard-won peace process. But each side has rejected the other's solution.

Raab said in his letter that "despite our differences, we are not far from an agreement on this issue."

He said the U.K. and the EU agree "on the principle of a U.K.-wide customs backstop" — a plan to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the bloc, rendering border checks on goods unnecessary.

Britain says such a solution must be temporary, while the EU wants a permanent fix. But Raab said agreement should be possible and "the end is now firmly in sight."

An Oct 17-18 EU summit that had been billed as the deadline for a breakthrough ended with talks still deadlocked. But both Britain and the EU have said a deal is still possible this fall, and behind-the-scenes talks have continued.

Any agreement reached by the two sides will have to be approved by the British and European parliaments.

May's proposed deal faces strong opposition both from pro-Brexit lawmakers, who say it keeps Britain bound too closely to the bloc; and pro-EU legislators, who argue it will create barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner.