BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier expressed confidence in a closed-door meeting with member states’ envoys to the bloc last Friday that a new deal with Britain was possible, they said diplomatic sources told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, attends the start of a round of post-Brexit trade negotiations between the EU and the United Kingdom, in Brussels, Belgium, June 29, 2020. John Thys / Pool via REUTERS / File Photo
His comments after the latest round of negotiations between the EU and the UK contrast with his negative public assessment that London’s rigid positions on fisheries and guarantees of a level playing field of fair competition meant that an agreement was unlikely for now.
More than four years after the British voted in a referendum to leave the EU, and after tortuous divorce talks, the two sides are negotiating on all aspects of their ties, from trade to security, starting in 2021. .
The two key pitfalls are access to British fishing waters and the EU’s demand that Britain be closely tied to the bloc’s state, labor and environmental aid rules to ensure it does not undermine the EU’s single market with products. low quality.
The EU says an agreement must be reached in October to give ratification time by the end of the year. Both sides have said the talks may be stalled.
“I remain confident that a balanced and sustainable agreement is still possible, even if it is less ambitious,” Barnier said at the meeting, according to sources present, adding that London seemed more interested in seeking only a “low-quality, low-agreement profile”.
He said his recent meeting with Boris Johnson had left him feeling that the British prime minister wanted a deal, despite insisting that London was prepared for the prospect that there might be no deal.
Barnier’s comments were echoed by Ireland and the Netherlands, according to sources.
Envoys from the two countries, who are likely to receive the greatest impact from any changes in trade rules after December 31, said they were confident that an agreement would materialize.
“SWIMMING THROUGH THE CHANNEL”
The Dutch envoy joked that an agreement would eventually “come through the channel (English),” according to sources.
All the envoys called for calm and unity, saying that this strategy had already helped reduce gaps in agreed ways to resolve future disputes, an item regularly mentioned as a hindrance in the past.
Barnier called the “level playing field” the biggest pending problem, but he also listed cooperation in energy and transportation, as well as rules for marking the origin of products.
“A level playing field is not for sale,” sources said, citing Barnier.
They also said that Lithuania and Hungary had expressed concern that too harsh a stance on fishing could decrease the possibility of sealing a general agreement.
France, whose fishing industry is economically and politically sensitive, called the comments “unacceptable,” the sources said.
The French mission in Brussels said the French envoy had asked for solidarity in all aspects of the talks.
The EU’s executive body, the European Commission, said it had nothing to add to Barnier’s public comments.
EU missions to Lithuania, Ireland and the Netherlands said they would not comment on confidential talks. The Hungarian EU office did not respond to a request for comment.
Written by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Kevin Liffey
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