French junior minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune wears a face mask as he attends a ceremony at Antakalnis cemetery in Vilnius, on September 29, 2020, during an official visit of the French President to Lithuania and the Baltic region. (LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP)

PARIS / LONDON - The European Union and Britain must reach an agreement on their post-Brexit ties by the start of November, France’s European affairs minister said on Sunday, but the bloc would not accept a bad deal just for the sake of reaching a compromise.

“There needs to be an agreement in the coming weeks. That means around the beginning of November,” Clement Beaune told FranceInfo radio.

“We must not lose our calm in the final days of negotiations because that is sometimes when bad concessions are made.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday that he would explore every avenue for a trade deal with the European Union but said progress to bridge significant gaps needed to be made in the coming days.

Johnson has set a deadline of the Oct 15 EU summit for agreeing a deal, and the EU is seeking a few more concessions before entering the final phase of negotiations.

The two chief negotiators, the EU’s Michel Barnier and Britain’s David Frost, say they are inching towards a deal ahead of the Oct. 15 deadline, though they have underscored that important gaps remain

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“(Johnson) confirmed the UK’s commitment to exploring every avenue to reach an agreement,” Johnson’s Downing Street office said in a read-out of the call.

“The Prime Minister emphasised that progress must be made in the coming days to bridge the significant gaps, notably in the areas of fisheries and the level playing field, through the process of intensive talks between Chief Negotiators.”

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The two chief negotiators, the EU’s Michel Barnier and Britain’s David Frost, say they are inching towards a deal ahead of the Oct. 15 deadline, though they have underscored that important gaps remain.

Johnson told Macron that Britain wanted a deal, but not at any price.

“He underlined that a deal was better for both sides, but also that the UK was prepared to end the transition period on Australia-style terms if an agreement could not be found,” Johnson’s office said.