New fishing offer strengthens hope for a deal



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This brought the British position very close to that of the EU. The EU has agreed to a 25 percent reduction, an increase from the original EU offer of 15-18 percent.

Fishing is the main pending issue in the negotiations.

The British offer also extended the length of the transition period for EU fishing in British waters to five years from the previous three years. The EU has previously reduced its offer from ten years to seven years.

What happens after the transition period has also been a hotly debated issue in the negotiations.

The UK has wanted full control over its fishing waters. But the EU, for its part, has wanted to be able to punish Britain with tariffs and quotas if the access of EU fishermen is severely affected.

The proposal now is for an independent dispute resolution panel to determine reasonable compensation in the form of increased fees or dues.

However, the EU still wants a rescission clause that would allow all parts of the trade deal to be repealed if access for EU fishers is significantly reduced.

On Monday night, the EU did not respond to the British offer.

Earlier on Monday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear that Britain had ruled out both an extension of the current general transition period and an early and tentative application of a possible deal.

This general transition period means that the UK will participate in the EU internal market and customs union after leaving on February 1 until the turn of the year.

A provisional application of a deal would mean that the UK implements the deal before the lower house has ratified it.

But since Boris Johnson also ruled out this alternative, the deal must be negotiated and the lower house has time to vote yes before the year turns.

“Obviously, we need to ratify an agreement before January 1, which means there is little time,” the spokesman said.

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