Hours before Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen met on Monday, UK and EU officials were still making last-minute checks and adjustments to the final deal.
There was no single eureka moment as the two sides spent many late nights and long hours trying to find a deal, often fuelled by underwhelming egg sandwiches in Brussels. Instead, it was a long, hard slog towards a final arrangement that intensified after Mr Sunak entered Downing Street.
