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LONDON / BRUSSELS: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen instructed their negotiators to resume trade talks on Sunday (December 5) in a last desperate attempt to bridge differences significant.
The decision to reignite long-running talks after they stalled on Friday over three of the thorniest issues suggests that both sides believe there is still some hope they can secure a deal that governs nearly a trillion dollars of trade a year. .
But it was unclear whether either side was ready to change their position enough to allow for the advance that has proved elusive since Britain left the EU on January 31 and entered a transition period that runs until the end of year.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said that while there were serious differences, “we agreed that our negotiating teams should make an additional effort to assess whether they can be resolved.”
“No agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved,” they said after speaking for more than an hour on Saturday. “We are therefore instructing our main negotiators to meet tomorrow in Brussels. We will speak again on Monday night.”
After months of negotiations, there has been little movement in three areas of disagreement: fishing, ensuring fair competition, and ways to resolve future disputes.
Sources on both sides said that French demands over fishing rights in British waters remained a key issue, with some in Johnson’s Conservative Party suggesting that EU officials had to convince French President Emmanuel Macron that endorse an agreement.
Two EU officials said the talks would pick up where they left off. One described the suspension and then the resumption of the talks as theatrical. “Each side needs a bit of drama to be able to sell this.”
SOVEREIGNTY
Johnson, a front man for Britain’s campaign to leave the EU, must be able to convince Brexit supporters that a clean break has been secured, reclaiming what he called during last year’s election campaign the sovereignty of the country.
Von der Leyen does not want to offer London too much for fear of encouraging other member states to leave and must also deliver a deal that does not alienate any of the 27.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin welcomed the decision to resume talks, saying on Twitter: “Everything must be done to reach an agreement.”
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the five-year Brexit divorce will end in disarray just as Britain and Europe grapple with the enormous economic cost of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Both sides acknowledge that time is running out and UK and EU sources gave a pessimistic reading following the call between Johnson and von der Leyen on Saturday.
With less than four weeks for Britain to complete its journey outside the bloc, both sides must also reach an agreement on any agreement from their parliaments and the EU executive must obtain approval from all 27 member states.
If the talks continue beyond Sunday, they may crack further when the British government goes ahead on Monday with legislation that breaks a previous Brexit deal by reintroducing contentious clauses that the upper house of parliament removed.
The British government is also introducing new legislation that is expected to contain more provisions that undermine parts of the exit agreement.
The clauses, which the government says it needs as a safety net to ensure unrestricted trade between its four nations, might not be necessary if London and Brussels agree to a trade deal.
