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The European Union and the UK have warned they may not be able to reach a deal on their post-Brexit relationship after a week of negotiations that saw little progress. The pound fell.
“At this stage, an agreement between the UK and the EU does not seem likely,” block chief negotiator Michel Barnier said after talks broke on Friday. “Too often this week to feel as if we were going backwards more than attackers. ”
The two sides are still at loggerheads in various areas, mostly on what rights EU boats will have to fish in British waters and the playable field – rules designed to stop the UK from undermining the bloc’s economy. Agreement on both topics is a condition for a broader trade deal, which means companies and consumers will have the return of rates and quotas at the end of the year if the talks fail.
“We’ve had some useful talks this week, but there hasn’t been much progress,” said David Frost, the UK’s adviser, in a statement released when Barnier spoke. “Agreement is still possible, and it is still our goal, but it is clear that it will not be easy to achieve.”
The pound retreated 0.4% against the dollar, reversing previous gains of as much as 0.3%.
The UK tried to unlock this deadlock this week by submitting a confidential draft of the final deal, explaining where the big differences remain. Barnier said that although it was “useful” to see the British position, “we can not have people working unilaterally.”
‘No progress Whatsoever’
After a slow start when the coronavirus pandemic hit, there was a burst of optimism in June, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson convinced the EU side that he was serious about getting a deal. But the positivity has ebbed because the negotiators have not been able to convey about the biggest divorces.
On Friday, Barnier said there had been “no progress” in the fisheries sector, both sides are “far from agreeing” on the creation mechanism for each deal and there remain major problems in the area of co-operation with legislation where the EU wants to protect all sensitive data it shares with the United Kingdom
“We have not yet seen any of our UK partners ready to take on EU priorities,” Barnier said.
Frost countered by saying that the EU still did not treat the UK as an equal sovereign partner and demanded too much that it then carry out a normal trade contract.
“If the EU accepts this reality in all areas of the negotiations, it will be much easier to make progress,” he said.
The UK first wanted a deal by the summer, while the EU saw a summit of European leaders in mid-October as a tough deadline. But Barnier made the chances of negotiations last longer than that – even if they were unlikely to succeed.
“Any delay after the end of October would pose a serious risk to the outcome of this process,” he said. “I do not understand why we are wasting valuable time.”
Both sides will hold talks to face discussion in London in the week of 7 September.
– With the help of Alex Morales
(Adds next chat round in last paragraph.)
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