UK and EU expected to announce Brexit trade deal today

The Irish foreign minister said a post-Brexit trade deal is expected Thursday, after a “last-minute hitch” delayed an announcement.

Simon Coveney told RTE radio it will be an “enormous relief” when the deal is finally announced. Press conferences originally slated for early Thursday have been delayed as both sides finalize the “small text” of the agreement on fishing rights, he said.

Meanwhile, EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier said Tuesday that the bloc was making a “final push” to strike a Brexit trade deal with Britain ahead of Dec. 31.

“We are really in a crucial moment,” Barnier told reporters on his way to brief 27 ambassadors. “We are giving it a final push. In 10 days, the U.K. … will leave the single market.”