The EU - infamously talented at the old goalpost-moving - has admitted that not only does the European Parliament not need to ratify an agreement for it to be provisionally applied as of 1 January, but that EU leaders don't even need to sign off on the treaty in person. An approved member of their government could do that instead, from the comfort of their own home.

For now, though, we're told there's little movement in talks, even though Belgium's prime minister noted the two sides "are in the last minutes of a football match".

Michel Barnier the EU's chief negotiator, was reportedly in good spirits when he reported on the negotiations to representatives of the 27 EU countries on Wednesday morning. But he emphasised that the key outstanding issues remained very much the same:

• EU fishing rights in UK waters after Brexit
• Mutually agreed competition rules
• And how to govern a deal, including managing any arising disputes if either the UK or the EU failed to keep to the agreemen

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