[ad_1]
The UK is ready to reject the European Union’s proposal to maintain the status quo in fisheries for 12 months after a no-deal Brexit, Downing Street said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said the UK would closely examine the proposal, along with other EU contingency plans published on Thursday, but suggested it was unacceptable.
“We would never accept arrangements and access to UK fishing waters that are incompatible with our status as an independent coastal state,” he said.
Payer-General Penny Mordaunt told the House of Commons that Britain and the EU remained very distant on the issues of fisheries, level playing field and governance after Johnson’s meeting in Brussels with the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday.
“We work tirelessly to get a deal, but we cannot accept it at any price. We cannot accept a deal that compromises control of our money, laws, borders, and fisheries. The only agreement that is possible is one that is compatible with our sovereignty and regains control of our laws, commerce and waters, ”said Ms. Mordaunt.
Conservative MPs encouraged Johnson to stand his ground as talks are scheduled to continue through Sunday, but the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that a deal was vital to protecting businesses, jobs and living standards. . A House of Lords committee said Britain was not ready by the end of the post-Brexit transition period on December 31, even if there is a deal.
In a letter to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, the EU’s subcommittee on goods said the necessary technological, physical and welfare arrangements were lacking to prevent a major disruption in the movement of goods.
“Our committee is very skeptical that the necessary physical customs infrastructure, both in ports and inland, is ready. The government has not prepared enough for the reality of moving goods through the Canal. It has been overly optimistic and this has been reflected in weak and undeveloped contingency plans at all levels, ”said committee chair Sandip Verma.
“How aware companies are of what they should do to prepare for the post-transition is anyone’s guess. This lack of awareness worries us because the proper movement of goods requires that each vehicle has completed the necessary customs controls in advance.
“The well-being and safety of drivers, which should be the highest priority, simply has not been properly thought through. Has the government really considered how and where drivers, who may be stuck in long lines, will respond to the call of nature or take the legally required breaks? ”
Labor leader Keir Starmer said the remaining differences between Britain and the EU could be resolved, and urged the prime minister to “go ahead and abide by” an agreement. He indicated that if an agreement is reached in the House of Commons, Labor will back it.
“We will see it and act in the national interest,” he said.
“But in a direct choice between no agreement and no agreement, then the agreement is clearly in the national interest.”
[ad_2]