【明報專訊】There is less than three weeks left before the end of the transition period for the UK to leave the EU on the 31st of this month. As of yesterday (December 13), the stalemate between the UK and the EU in the trade talks on the exit from the EU remained without progress, and it was once rumoured that the UK was likely to leave the EU without a deal. This will cause a lot of damage to both sides, making both economies even worse. Hijacked by public sentiments and populist votes, both sides have failed to compromise for fear of losing face and votes. Last night, the two sides issued a joint statement, saying that ''it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile''. They have accordingly mandated their negotiators to continue the talks. In the past, some of the EU's years-long marathon trade talks had a breakthrough only on the last one or two days, or even the last night, of the negotiations. We cannot rule out a turnaround in the negotiations over the next half month or so.