Britain’s top Brexit negotiator, David Frost, warned that progress in talks had been “blocked and time was running out” as leaders on both sides downplayed expectations that an agreement would be reached.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke on Thursday evening with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after which he said talks were in a “serious situation” and would fail if the EU did not soften the his stance on fishing, which he described as “unreasonable”. ”
For his part, von der Leyen warned that “big differences” remain, especially in terms of fishing, and that “overcoming them will be very difficult”.
Despite this pessimistic rhetoric, Brussels officials expressed confidence that an agreement could still be reached before next week. Behind the scenes, talks are moving forward and one must expect such negative language at this stage, both as a negotiation tactic and to manage expectations at home, they said.
There is often a theatrical element at the end of negotiations, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told RTE on Thursday. He said he was on the “optimistic” side of the possibility of a 50:50 deal. Discussions continue Friday.
In New York, the pound reduced its gain against the dollar to 0.3%, and fell below London’s 1.3560 low, according to traders ’prices in the leaders’ comments.
Talks are reduced to zero on what rights EU vessels will have to fish in British waters after Brexit. The issue has minimal economic impact (industry accounts for only 0.1% of UK gross domestic product), but is of high political importance.
The other major obstacle to an agreement, the competitive and uniform playing field, which for months seemed likely to break off negotiations, is not fully resolved, but the two sides are much closer, according to officials on both sides. .
State aid
For a few weeks, the UK has opposed the EU’s plan to exempt funding from the central bloc, including its € 750 billion ($ 920 billion) pandemic aid package, from any restriction on state aid, according to a British official.
Johnson said the UK “was making every effort to meet the EU’s reasonable demands on an equal footing, but although the gap had narrowed, some key areas remained difficult.”
Johnson told von der Leyen that the EU’s position on fisheries “was simply unreasonable and that if there was an agreement, it needed to change significantly,” according to a statement from his office. “The UK could not accept a situation where it was the only sovereign country in the world that could not control access to its waters for an extended period.”
The two sides are at loggerheads over how long a transition period will apply before the new fishing rules and quotas come into force. The UK has been pushing for three years; the EU wants more time. They also continue to argue about precise quota amounts and how often they should be renegotiated.
Sunday deadline?
On Thursday, the European Parliament added to the pressure by setting a deadline for officials on Sunday to reach an agreement to ratify it in time for the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December.
Although EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told members of the European Parliament an agreement was “possible” on Friday, people familiar with the negotiations said they expected the talks to end over the weekend.
In London, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove told a House of Lords committee that negotiations could continue even after Christmas. He said the EU could provisionally implement any agreement, which would allow it to delay European Parliament approval until 2021.
– With the assistance of Dara Doyle
(Additional talks continue on Friday, with Irishman Varadkar in the fifth paragraph.)