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The HOPES of a last-minute Brexit trade deal between the EU and the UK have taken another hit.
Meetings over dinner in Brussels between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ended without any sign of progress.
Officials said contacts will continue over the next few days, and a new outer deadline has been set for Sunday. Johnson, who traveled from London, met with Dr. von der Leyen for more than three hours, but then there were no signs of any progress on the three crucial issues still blocking a deal.
Johnson’s office said the two leaders set Sunday the deadline for deciding whether there will be a deal or a tumultuous no-deal split at the end of the month.
Johnson flew to Brussels in the hope that high-level political talks could give new impetus to talks that are stalled on issues like fishing rights and competition rules.
But there was no progress at the three-hour meeting Downing St. described as “frank.”
Ms Von der Leyen wrote on Twitter: “We had a lively and interesting discussion on the status of outstanding issues.
“We understand the positions of others. They remain very separate.
“The teams must meet again immediately to try to solve these problems. We will reach a decision at the end of the weekend. “
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that “we are on the verge of a no-deal” ahead of the decisive meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson.
He told Dáil that it remains to be seen whether the president of the European Commission and the British prime minister can “rescue the situation” in their talks.
The key sticking points remain the so-called level playing field provisions required by the EU for the future relationship with the UK and fisheries.
Tonight, Johnson tweeted a photograph of himself getting on a plane to Brussels before his dinner with Ms Von der Leyen.
He said: “There is much to do.”
But he also insisted that the UK “if we enter into trade deals similar to Australia or Canada, the UK will powerfully prosper as an independent nation.”
An Australian deal is the British government’s way of characterizing a no-deal clash.
Earlier in the Dáil, Martin was questioned about fisheries by TD Michael Collins of Cork South-West, who claimed that Ireland historically had a “weak hand” on the issue and asked: “Whose fish is Michel Barnier? [The EU’s negotiator] giving away in these negotiations?
Mr. Martin said that Mr. Collins’s “weak hands” language is “nonsense.”
The Taoiseach also said that the Irish government did not cause Brexit and that it was a decision made by the British people, recommended by their politicians.
He added: “In my opinion, it was the wrong move.”
He said there are implications for the Irish fisheries, but that “if we didn’t have an agreement, it would be a worse outcome for our fisheries.”
Martin warned: “Now, at this point, we are on the verge of a no-deal.
“It remains to be seen how tonight’s two directors, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, can salvage the situation in their talks.
“But it’s on the razor’s edge.
“It’s 50-50. There are tough issues around the level playing field and our own fisheries.”
He added: “I have met and engaged with fisheries organizations. There can be no doubt that we want to preserve and support our fishing industry in the strongest and most effective way possible.”
Online editors
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