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The terms offered by the European Union in a trade deal remain “unacceptable” for the UK, according to a British government source, and time is running out to reach an agreement.
Talks between chief negotiators David Frost and Michel Barnier are expected to last until late at night in Brussels, as officials stressed that there was no progress in the latest discussions that began just before noon on Saturday.
The British Prime Minister will speak again with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Sunday, after a dinner meeting in Brussels during the week in which they both agreed that a firm decision on the future of the negotiations was needed to the end of the weekend.
A UK government source said: “The talks continue overnight, but as it stands, the offer on the EU table remains unacceptable.
“The prime minister will leave no stone unturned in this process, but it is absolutely clear: any agreement must be fair and respect the fundamental position that the UK will be a sovereign nation in three weeks.”
Johnson and top European official, Ms Von der Leyen, cautioned that a no-deal outcome appears more likely than a deal in trade negotiations.
With the UK on the brink of a no-deal exit, the British government has stepped up preparations to exit the single market when the transition deals end on December 31.
Confirmation from the UK Ministry of Defense that four Royal Navy gunboats have been put on standby to protect British waters from EU trawlers if there is no deal has been greeted with ire by some high-level conservatives.
Reports have also suggested that ministers are considering bolstering the Navy’s powers in legislation to authorize them to tackle and arrest fishermen who break post-Brexit rules.
Tobias Ellwood, Conservative chairman of the Commons Defense Committee, called the threat “irresponsible,” while former European Commissioner Chris Patten said the British prime minister’s rhetoric of no-deal was based on the “runaway train of English exceptionalism. ”.
But Admiral Alan West, the former chief of naval staff, said it was “absolutely appropriate” for the Royal Navy to protect UK waters from foreign fishing vessels if asked to do so in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
“The Royal Navy should protect our waters if the position is that we are a sovereign state and our government has said that we do not want other nations to be there,” West told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
When asked about the UK’s decision to prepare the Royal Navy patrol boats, an official at the Elysee Palace in Paris responded using the British slogan of the war, telling reporters: “Keep calm and carry on.”
Trade talks remain stalled over the thorny issues of fishing rights and the so-called level playing field “ratchet” that would bind the UK to future EU rules.
Johnson, in a speech at a climate change summit on Saturday, appeared to criticize French President Emmanuel Macron on the fishing line.
Macron is said to have threatened to veto a deal between the UK and the EU after expressing dissatisfaction with the new terms of the quotas that are being given to French fishermen.
In his closing remarks, Johnson thanked the co-host of the summit, Mr. Macron, adding that he knew En Marche! leader “shares my great interest in protecting the ecosystems of our seas”.
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