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France wants the European Union to reach an agreement with the United Kingdom, but will not accept one that is disadvantageous for the country, Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune told Europe 1 radio on Friday.
“We need to prepare for the risk of ‘No deal‘but it’s not what we want, “he said of the post-Brexit deal.” I still hope that an agreement is possible, but we will not accept a bad agreement for France. We will oppose it with a veto ”, he guaranteed.
The leader of the European Council, Charles Michel, also spoke about it this Friday: “We want an agreement, but not at any price, this is not new,” said the official, quoted by Politico. “It is essential at the end of the negotiations to have an agreement that is acceptable to all member states,” he stressed.
On Wednesday, the French envoy had warned negotiator Michel Barnier of the possibility of a French veto: how Brussels would look bad in the photo if there was a deal that was later vetoed by some European leader, according to Bloomberg.
Speaking to Europe 1, Beaune addressed the French public: “I want to tell our fishermen, our producers, the citizens who listen that we will not accept an agreement with bad conditions”, even if the alternative is not to have an agreement, the that would be penalizing everyone, he stressed.
“To have a good agreement, it is necessary to be frank and say what our interests are,” he said, concluding with a sliver to London. “We have always been transparent. The British are sometimes a little less. “
A British source quoted by Reuters said, on the other hand, that the European Union “is bringing new elements to the negotiation” and trying to force concessions towards the end of the period.
With less than four weeks to reach an agreement before December 31, when the transition period ends and the UK automatically exits the single market, negotiations for the future EU-UK partnership appear to be making little progress.
