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The EU’s main Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said that an agreement on a future EU-UK relationship is within reach if both sides are willing to compromise in the coming days.
He told the European Parliament: “An agreement is within our reach if both parties are willing to work constructively, both parties are willing to compromise and if we are able to move forward in the coming days on the basis of the legal texts, and if we are ready in the next few days to resolve the trouble spots. “
Barnier said his team was ready to travel to London from Monday this week to resume negotiations.
Those talks were suspended by the UK after last week’s EU summit, during which leaders gave a cautious statement on the negotiations, saying they should continue but that the UK’s responsibility was to move forward on obstacles. key.
This morning, Mr Barnier defended the position of the EU leaders last week.
“The European Council was a key moment for this negotiation. The European Council stressed to our friends and partners in the UK that the EU wants a deal.
“We want an agreement that is mutually beneficial for both parties, with respect to the autonomy and sovereignty of both parties, an agreement that reflects a balanced compromise. But there will not be an agreement at any cost.”
However, Barnier seemed to take a more conciliatory note, emphasizing that both parties had to give in.
“We will stand firm and determined when it comes to defending the principles and interests of each of the EU member states and the EU itself,” he told MEPs.
“We will seek the necessary commitments from both parties to do everything possible to reach an agreement and we will do so until the last day that it is possible to do so. Our doors will always be open to the end.” . “
He said the EU had understood the British red lines on the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union, on the legislative autonomy of the UK and on fisheries.
The EU has tried to reconcile these red lines with EU principles and values, he said.
However, he disagreed with the UK’s repeated insistence that the EU had promised to deliver a “Canada-style” free trade agreement and then failed to do so in recent weeks.
“The UK has talked about a Canadian-style deal,” he said. “We share a special relationship with the UK. There are no miles between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, zero miles between us and the UK.
“There is an economic fabric that we have built with the British over the past 47 years. This situation is truly unique. That is why the agreement we seek will be unprecedented,” he said.
The offer of zero tariffs and quotas to the UK was unprecedented, he said, and the EU did not offer it to Canada or Japan.
Barnier said there would be no trade deal without “a fair solution” for fishermen on both sides.
“We will insist on this to the end,” he said. “There must be mutual access to the waters and there must be a fair distribution of quotas for fishermen on both sides.”
Earlier, European Council President Charles Michel said that if the UK wanted to access the single market, EU fishermen should have access to British waters.
He told the European Parliament: “Brexit was not our decision nor the decision of our fishermen. Stopping access to UK waters would cause extraordinary damage to our fishing fleets. Yes, we want to maintain access to UK waters to our fishermen, exactly like the UK, wants to maintain access to our huge and diversified markets for their companies. “
Michel, who chaired last week’s summit and represents 27 EU leaders, was scathing about the UK’s internal market bill, which violates the Withdrawal Agreement.
He said the UK’s actions had increased the need for a robust dispute resolution mechanism in any free trade agreement.
“The internal market bill, which clearly violates the withdrawal agreement, reminds us how important it is,” he told MEPs. “What is the use of negotiating, signing and ratifying an international agreement if it is not fully implemented?
“In the event of a breach of the agreement, we need to be able to take the dispute to binding independent arbitration and obtain a speedy resolution.”
He also said that the so-called level playing field was a key European demand.
“It’s a question of the integrity of the single market and fair competition. Our friends in the UK say they want to maintain the highest standards. If that’s the case, why don’t they commit to them? We don’t need words. We need guarantees. . “
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