Brexit negotiators are bracing for the prospect of talks dragging on close to Christmas after an inconclusive weekend of negotiations dominated by haggling over several hundred million euros of fishing rights.
Talks will continue on Monday, with British officials warning that “significant differences” remain between the two sides only 10 days before the UK exits the EU single market on January 1.
The failure to reach a deal over the weekend prompted a warning from the European Parliament that it will now refuse to vote on any agreement before the end of the year. This means Brussels will have to explore legal stopgap solutions if it wants a deal to take effect on time.
David McAllister, the EU parliament’s lead representative on Brexit, said on Sunday evening that MEPs “will not be in a position to grant consent to an agreement this year”, blaming the fact that negotiators were set to miss a midnight deadline set by the assembly for an agreement to be struck.
“After intensive negotiations this week, there is still no clarity whether an agreement for the future UK-EU relations will be reached or not,” Mr McAllister said on Twitter.
The main sticking point is over EU fishing access to UK waters after Brexit, with British prime minister Boris Johnson said to be confused at what the latest EU offer would mean for the country’s fishing communities; he is seeking clarification.
Other outstanding points relate to fair competition rules for companies: Mr Johnson believes that a proposed new state aid regime is “unbalanced” and would allow the EU to issue more subsidies than Britain, although officials in Brussels said that problem could be resolved.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Twitter that he and his UK opposite number David Frost were continuing to “work hard” for a deal, with talks at a “crucial moment”.
“The EU remains committed to a fair, reciprocal and balanced agreement,” he said. “We respect the sovereignty of the UK. And we expect the same.”
Both sides are still holding out hope that a deal can yet be reached.
“The process is ongoing and feels like it has a bit of distance still to run,” said one aide to Mr Johnson.
“We have time left to resolve this one way or another — what’s absolutely certain is we won’t sign an unbalanced deal. If this isn’t settled by January 1, that’s it. No negotiation next year.”
With Mr Barnier facing warnings from MEPs that they need time to scrutinise any agreement in detail, Mr Johnson is also under pressure to agree a deal swiftly to give Britain’s parliament time to study a text which will define the UK’s relations with its closest trading partner for decades to come.
EU officials said that a legal option known as “provisional application” could be explored if the European Parliament maintains its refusal to vote — allowing core parts of the deal to come into effect while the assembly takes more time for scrutiny.
UK negotiators have been in Brussels for two weeks. With the outcome of the talks still unclear, the British team were given mince pieces and mulled wine at the country’s diplomatic mission on Sunday evening as the negotiations edge on towards Christmas.
In the talks this weekend, two sides discussed an EU offer to sacrifice 25 per cent of its €650m of fishing rights in UK waters. The cut would be linked to a transition period of six years during which EU fishing fleets would be assured of their right to enter UK waters.
Mr Barnier has argued that, after the transition period, a mechanism would need to be put in place that would allow the EU to hit UK products, notably fish, with tariffs if Britain closed off its waters to EU boats.
The UK has been demanding a greater share of the stocks and a shorter transition.
But in a sign of how sensitive the issue is for both sides, the 25 per cent offer from Brussels has prompted outrage from the EU fishing sector, with the European Fisheries Alliance warning of “a huge blow” to the industry.
Mr Barnier pushed his case in his tweets that the EU was seeking a relationship of equals with the UK, saying that both sides “must have the right to set their own laws and control their own waters”.
“We should both be able to act when our interests are at stake,” he said.
Source: Economy - ft.com
