<p>European Commission <gwmw class="ginger-module-highlighter-mistake-type-3" id="gwmw-15774376605025562943176">chief Ursula</gwmw> von der Leyen has expressed "serious concern" over whether the bloc could conclude a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain within the 2020 deadline.</p>.<p>Britain is due to leave the European Union on January 31 but will remain in a transitional arrangement until the end of next year while negotiators debate future trade ties.</p>.<p>"I am very worried given the little time we have," von der Leyen told France's Les Echos newspaper in an interview published Friday.</p>.<p>"It's not only about negotiating a free trade deal but many other subjects. It seems to me that on both sides we must ask ourselves seriously if all these negotiations are feasible in such a short time," she said.</p>.<p>"I believe that it would be reasonable to review things in the middle of the year, if necessary to see if an extension is needed."</p>.<p>Under the withdrawal agreement which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed with Europe but not yet pushed through parliament, the UK could ask for a one or two-year extension.</p>.<p>But Johnson, who won a comfortable majority in the UK general election this month, insists he will not ask for more time and is preparing legislation to forbid such a move.</p>.<p>In this case, negotiators will only have 11 months to conclude a trade agreement, a task that officials on both sides have warned is extremely ambitious.</p>.<p>And if 2020 comes to an end with no deal concluded, Britain will sever ties with the huge EU single market with no follow-on deal to protect jobs and trade on both sides.</p>.<p>EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said earlier this week that <gwmw class="ginger-module-highlighter-mistake-type-3" id="gwmw-15774376707801664036697">drafting</gwmw> and ratifying a post-Brexit deal by next year was an "immense challenge but we will give it our all".</p>
<p>European Commission <gwmw class="ginger-module-highlighter-mistake-type-3" id="gwmw-15774376605025562943176">chief Ursula</gwmw> von der Leyen has expressed "serious concern" over whether the bloc could conclude a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain within the 2020 deadline.</p>.<p>Britain is due to leave the European Union on January 31 but will remain in a transitional arrangement until the end of next year while negotiators debate future trade ties.</p>.<p>"I am very worried given the little time we have," von der Leyen told France's Les Echos newspaper in an interview published Friday.</p>.<p>"It's not only about negotiating a free trade deal but many other subjects. It seems to me that on both sides we must ask ourselves seriously if all these negotiations are feasible in such a short time," she said.</p>.<p>"I believe that it would be reasonable to review things in the middle of the year, if necessary to see if an extension is needed."</p>.<p>Under the withdrawal agreement which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed with Europe but not yet pushed through parliament, the UK could ask for a one or two-year extension.</p>.<p>But Johnson, who won a comfortable majority in the UK general election this month, insists he will not ask for more time and is preparing legislation to forbid such a move.</p>.<p>In this case, negotiators will only have 11 months to conclude a trade agreement, a task that officials on both sides have warned is extremely ambitious.</p>.<p>And if 2020 comes to an end with no deal concluded, Britain will sever ties with the huge EU single market with no follow-on deal to protect jobs and trade on both sides.</p>.<p>EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said earlier this week that <gwmw class="ginger-module-highlighter-mistake-type-3" id="gwmw-15774376707801664036697">drafting</gwmw> and ratifying a post-Brexit deal by next year was an "immense challenge but we will give it our all".</p>