The meeting between the two men came a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar had a “detailed and constructive discussion” in which they agreed that a Brexit deal is possible.
The exchange between the two leaders represented a change of mood compared to earlier in the week when EU and UK officials accused each other of playing a “stupid blame game.”
The two sides are tussling over the backstop agreement — an insurance policy championed by the EU to keep Northern Ireland in the bloc’s customs union in order to prevent the creation of a physical border which could threaten peace on the island — which the UK argues is undemocratic.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday morning that “the UK has still not come forward with a workable, realistic proposal” but tempered that by saying that “even the slight chance (that a deal can be struck) must be used.”