Michael Gove says EU ‘not serious’ securing Brexit deal

CABINET OFFICE MINISTER Michael Gove has insisted the door is “ajar” for post-Brexit trade talks to continue with the EU after Downing Street declared the negotiations to be “over”.

Gove accused EU officials of not taking the commitments seriously and said they would have to back off if chief negotiator Michel Barnier resumes negotiations in London this week.

His warning today came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused European leaders of having “abandoned the idea of ​​a free trade agreement” and told the country to “prepare” to leave without a trade agreement.

And Downing Street negotiator Lord Frost told his EU counterpart not to travel for the planned talks.

But Gove left room for talks to strike a trade deal to avoid the high trade tariffs the UK will face from December 31, when the transition period ends.

When asked if the door is still open for conversations, he said: “It’s ajar; we hope that the EU will change their position, we are certainly not saying that if they change their position we cannot talk to them ”.

But, he added on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that “we are ready if necessary” to leave without a trade deal, which he admitted would not “be a picnic.”

He previously told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the chances of landing a deal are “lower” than the 66% he had previously predicted.

“It is less. I cannot be precise, but one of the reasons why it is less is the position that the leaders of the European Union have taken in recent weeks, “he added.

He said the EU has refused to work on detailed draft legal text during the negotiations and was “unwilling to intensify the talks” while making unacceptable demands on fishing waters.

“And that seems to me to be the behavior of an organization and an institution that doesn’t take seriously the compromises necessary to secure a deal,” Gove said.

When asked if talks with Barnier could be resumed, he replied: “The ball is in his court. We have made it clear that we need to see a change in approach from the European Union.

“I know you will call David Frost over the next few days; Let’s see if the European Union appreciates the importance of reaching an agreement and the importance of making ground ”.

On Friday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said it “didn’t make sense” for Barnier to travel to London unless all 27 EU member states were willing to change their position or wanted to discuss sector-by-sector deals to prepare for a deal.

“The trade talks are over. The EU has effectively ended them saying that they do not want to change their negotiating position, ”the spokesman said.