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“We are in the final phase,” said an official. When asked if this meant that an agreement could be reached later Wednesday, a source close to the negotiations said: “Most likely, yes.”
According to officials, only the disagreement over the rights of EU fishers to fish in UK waters has so far not been resolved.
If the deal were to go through, it would avoid the chaotic consequences of the severing of ties on both sides of the English Channel after December 31, when Britain will withdraw from the common market and the EU customs union.
The UK withdrew from the EU on January 31, but there is a transition period until the end of this year, during which Britain continued to abide by EU rules in negotiations on new trade relations.
Whatever the end of this process, customs inspections will begin on January 1 and other obstacles will arise, but the trade agreement would prevent the introduction of tariffs and quotas, which threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides of the Canal. of La Mancha.
VIDEO: Final decision on Brexit: UK withdraws from EU
There have been rumors in recent days that a trade deal could be reached before Christmas, as progress has been made on all issues except fisheries disagreements. Some EU countries, after carefully examining Britain’s latest proposals on quotas for EU vessels in British waters, said that these conditions were a much smaller commitment than they appear.
Fishing quotas and the transition period for EU vessels were fiercely negotiated on Wednesday. Several sources said that some progress had been made.
UK Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick said in London: “We will need to address these final issues, and we need to go a little further.” However, he said he was optimistic about the chances of a deal.
The EU has long feared that the UK would fail to comply with EU social, environmental and state aid rules after Brexit, and that it would gain an unfair competitive advantage by exporting its goods and services to the bloc. London, for its part, said that compliance with EU rules would conflict with British sovereignty. However, a compromise on this conflict has already been reached, said a diplomat from an EU member.
If both sides do not approve the deal by January 1, it is unclear under what conditions the trade will take place before the new deals come into force.
In recent days, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have become increasingly involved in negotiations and kept in touch by phone in an effort to get out. from neutral.
Business groups on both sides have called for a deal that would save tens of billions of euros.
Although the absence of a trade deal would hurt both sides economically, most economists assume that Britain would be hit harder, at least in the short term, as it relies more on trade with the EU than the Community of Great Britain.
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