The EU pledges to intensify talks on Brexit and legal texts

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Senior European Union officials have said the EU is ready to step up talks towards a deal on future trade ties with the UK after a meeting to discuss the existing Brexit deal.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said Britain has a lot of work to do to meet commitments on the island of Ireland.

He said that the contacts “will intensify significantly”, with a view to another such meeting in mid-November.

However, British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said the EU must change its approach to trade talks with Britain if it wants to restart negotiations.

Repeating calls by the British government for the EU to talk about legal texts, Gove told parliament that trade negotiations had ended after the October 15 deadline set by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Gove said the EU had refused to discuss the legal texts of a draft trade agreement.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier later tweeted that the bloc was available to intensify talks in London this week “on all issues and based on legal texts.”

Mr. Gove described the statement as constructive.

“It is the case that my colleague David Frost was in conversation with Michel Barnier and I think it is the case that Michel Barnier has agreed both to intensify the talks as well as […] to work on legal texts, “he said.

Mr Gove said that the EU must be serious about talking intensively on all issues if a trade deal is to be reached with Britain that cannot accept the bloc’s proposals on fisheries and state aid.

“We cannot accept the negotiators’ proposals that would oblige us to provide full and permanent access to our fishing waters, with quotas substantially unchanged from those imposed by the EU membership,” Gove said.

“We cannot operate a state aid system that is essentially the same as the EU’s, with great discretion given to the EU to retaliate against us,” he added.

Previously, Downing Street had said that if there is no trade deal by the end of the year, the UK will not seek further negotiations in 2021.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “We have been repeatedly clear that any agreement must be in force before the end of the transition period and we will not be negotiating any more next year.

“We must provide certainty to our citizens and businesses, and long and endless negotiations will not achieve this.”

Downing Street said the EU would have to change its stance for post-Brexit trade negotiations to resume.

Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier and UK negotiator David Frost spoke this afternoon as trade talks were in limbo following the lack of progress made at the EU leaders’ summit last week.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “If the EU changes its position, then we will be willing to talk to them, but they must be ready to discuss the detailed legal text of a treaty in all areas.”

Meanwhile, RTÉ News understands that the EU is looking to have 15 customs and veterinary staff working alongside UK officials at the northern ports and Belfast airport to ensure proper implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

In return, the EU would withdraw an earlier request to have a physical office in Belfast.

The issue was raised during a meeting this morning of the EU-UK Joint Committee, which officials have described as positive and constructive.

One official cautiously described the meeting in London as a possible “turning point” in the process of both parties having to agree on how to implement the Protocol, which sets out customs and regulatory formalities on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain. .

The meeting was chaired by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, and Michael Gove, Minister of the Cabinet Office.

Representatives of the Irish government and the Northern Irish Executive also attended virtually.

It is understood that both sides also made progress on the issue of citizens’ rights, both for EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa. The teams adopted a Joint Report on Citizens’ Rights to be published in the coming days.

RTÉ News understands that Mr. Gove and Mr. Sefcovic agreed on an intensified schedule of meetings, and that the Specialized Technical Committee will meet twice before the highest-level Joint Committee meets again in mid-November.

Both men have agreed to speak before and after each meeting of the Specialized Committee.

High-level sources said Gove promised an open approach to updating the EU’s part on the construction of Border Control Posts (BCP), necessary to facilitate EU controls on live animals, animal goods and food shipments. entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Work also progressed to ensure merchants in the North had the correct VAT numbers and computer system to be able to connect to the EU VAT system for goods.

It is understood that Mr Sefcovic emphasized to his counterpart the importance of EU technical officials being able to monitor the work of UK officials in implementing checks and controls.

This would amount to some 15 EU staff members being able to work alongside their UK counterparts and have access to the UK customs and veterinary database in the process.

High-level sources say the EU side stressed that they understood the UK’s sensibilities around sovereignty and that they would not insist on a physical EU office in Belfast, with a flag and name plate.

However, they would expect EU officials to reside in Northern Ireland.

Both parties are believed to have discussed the question of whether products moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain would require exit summary declarations and how GB supermarket shipments to NI would be handled in terms of customs and regulatory controls.

Sources say both sides have sought ways to reach a compromise on these issues and that compromise would intensify, especially the role of the European Commission’s customs and tax division.

Additional Information Tony Connelly, PA



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