"We believe in an agreement that can be concluded between the European Union and the United Kingdom. After the news I have heard in recent days, I believe even more in such an agreement," Merkel said at a press conference after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron earlier on Wednesday expressed hope that the United Kingdom and the European Union would be able to reach a Brexit agreement in the coming hours.
Earlier in the day, EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefed EU ambassadors and commissioners about the course of discussions on Brexit, which are expected to solve the issue of the Irish border after the UK's withdrawal from the bloc.
At the moment, the UK should exit from the EU on October 31. Fearing that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson might withdraw the country without an agreement, parliamentarians passed a law requiring the prime minister to ask for a three-month delay in the absence of an agreement with the EU as of October 19. Documents submitted by the government to the Court of Session in Edinburgh claimed that Johnson would follow the requirement of the law, despite the fact that the prime minister himself had repeatedly insisted that Brexit would happen on October 31 "come what may."
Politicians in London and Brussels are working against the clock to strike a deal before the start of a two-day EU summit on Thursday.