London (CNN) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received further encouragement in his attempts at securing a Brexit deal after European Union member states agreed to "intensify" negotiations over the next few days.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, debriefed ambassadors of all 27 member states on Friday following a "constructive meeting" with Steve Barclay, the UK Secretary of State for Exiting the EU.

The optimistic words followed bad-tempered exchanges earlier in the week. Those indicated relations between the two sides were becoming strained with the deadline for the UK's departure from the European Union looming and no deal yet agreed.

A statement issued by the EU Commission said Friday: "The EU and the UK have agreed to intensify discussions over the coming days."

In a tweet posted later, Barnier said technical discussions would be held in a "constructive spirit," adding that the EU "will do everything it can for an agreement."

We are intensifying technical discussions with #UK over the coming days, in a constructive spirit. I will continue to debrief @Europarl_EN & Member States. The 🇪🇺 will do everything it can for an agreement, fully in line with our principles. #Brexit 🏔 pic.twitter.com/F6eYvPbt6D — Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 11, 2019

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