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The European Union will have to move forward in the negotiations, but it is in both Britain and the EU to reach a trade deal, according to the UK Finance Ministry.
“The fundamentals remain the same, it is in the interests of both parties to reach an agreement,” Steve Barclay, chief secretary of the Treasury, told Sky News.
“That there is an agreement does not simply depend on the actions of the prime minister. The EU needs to move,” he said.
Post-Brexit trade deal negotiations between the UK and the EU continue in Brussels amid reports that progress in the talks could translate into a deal agreed this week.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is said to have told diplomats that the UK had moved toward the bloc’s demands on a level playing field, according to the Daily Telegraph.
He said Barnier told ambassadors that the UK agreed to a “rebalancing mechanism”, meaning it could face tariffs if it strays too far from EU rules.
The Guardian reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there had been “movement” and that the talks were “in the last mile.”
Negotiations between the two sides were extended on Sunday after Boris Johnson and Ms Von der Leyen agreed to continue the process despite significant differences remaining.
Barnier briefed diplomats from the 27 EU states on the progress before resuming negotiations with his British counterpart, David Frost.
For months, talks have been stalled on issues of fishing rights, the “level playing field” to ensure that neither side can unfairly compete with the other on environmental standards, worker rights or state subsidies, and legal mechanisms. to govern any agreement.
Barnier said the “next few days” are important if a deal is to be reached by January 1.
“It is our responsibility to give the talks every chance of success,” he said.
“Never before has such a comprehensive agreement (trade, energy, fisheries, transport, police and judicial cooperation, etc.) been negotiated with such transparency and in such a short time.”
A spokesman for the EU ambassadorial grouping said there is “full support for the resilient and persistent” negotiating team led by Barnier.
The UK’s current trade deals with the EU expire at the end of the month, which means any new deals should be in place by January 1.
Otherwise, tariffs and quotas will be applied and red tape will increase, causing further damage to the UK economy, which has already been devastated by the coronavirus.
Additional Reuters reports
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