The 27 EU member states "underlined their commitment to have the framework ready by the summer of 2021," said a document endorsed by national envoys and seen by Reuters.
EU countries are working in parallel to ensure "that the necessary technological solutions are in place", the EU27 decision read, so that the new digital or paper certificates can be put to use once approved.
The EU-UK trade pact was provisionally applied on January 1, after nine months of tough negotiations and a last minute handshake just before Christmas last year.
While Barnier said the sides were striving at an agreement, he said the 27-nation bloc would not sign a deal that would undercut its cherished single market of 450 million consumers.
The EU sources said that any agreement that could emerge would produce a "differentiated" system on fishing quotas, but did not expect that to happen by Friday.