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The British prime minister said that negotiations with the European Union are now in a serious situation and that an agreement will not be reached unless the position of the EU changes substantially.
Boris Johnson’s comments came after a phone call with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
In a notable hardening of rhetoric, Johnson issued a lengthy statement, in which he said the UK was doing its best to accommodate what it called reasonable requests from the EU on a level playing field, but said some critical areas remained. being difficult.
On fisheries, he said that the UK would not accept a position where it could not control access to its own waters for a prolonged period and would face fishing quotas that seriously hurt its own industry.
He said that the EU’s position was simply not reasonable and would have to change significantly.
UK Brexit chief negotiator David Frost said the talks were in dire straits, with progress seemingly blocked and time running out.
In a much shorter statement, Ursula von der Leyen said there has been some progress in the talks, but closing the gap in fisheries will be a big challenge.
Earlier, British Government Minister Michael Gove said the prospects for a deal were now less than 50%.
And there are reports that the UK has raised the issue of subjecting the EU’s € 750 billion Covid recovery fund to state aid rules.
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