MERKEL SEES ‘PRAGMATIC’ SOLUTION TO UK, EU BORDER DISPUTE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was optimistic about finding "pragmatic" solutions to a border dispute between Britain and the European Union (EU), following talks on Friday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Both leaders said it would take time, however, for relations between London and Brussels to settle. "With goodwill and with patience we can sort it out," Johnson said of the current spat, at a joint press conference at his official country residence, Chequers, northwest of London.

Merkel is on what is likely to be her last visit to Britain before she leaves office later this year. She is also due to meet Queen Elizabeth II later on Friday.

Her visit comes days after Britain and the EU agreed on a three-month hiatus in a dispute over post-Brexit meat import rules in Northern Ireland. The dispute - dubbed sausage wars - centers around meat shipments between Northern Ireland, which has remained aligned with EU customs rules, and the rest of the United Kingdom.

"Hopefully, as we said at our bilateral, when it comes to chilled meats, the wurst is behind us," Johnson said, in a wordplay on the German word for sausage. Merkel and Johnson agreed to set up regular talks between their countries' governments as part of a new cooperation treaty following Britain's departure from the EU. This would mark a "new chapter" in bilateral relations, Merkel said.

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