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Brexit negotiations have latched onto three important points and more efforts are needed to break out of the stalemate, the two leaders said in a joint statement, also affirming that negotiations must resume.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Boris Johnson had an hour-long phone conversation on Saturday afternoon. They were summoned on Friday, when the negotiators chose to pause the discussions and stated that the contradictions were too great to reach an agreement.
The discussions are gone progress on several points, but important differences of opinion remain on three important issues: fisheries, how disputes should be handled and a level playing field, say the leaders in separate but identical statements.
“Both parties emphasize that an agreement is not possible if these problems cannot be resolved,” they add.
On Sunday, the main negotiators, the EU Michel Barnier and the British David Frost, will continue in Brussels. Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson will speak again on Monday night.
The last of december Britain is leaving the internal market and the EU customs union and if the parties cannot reach consensus soon, this will happen without a deal, the so-called hard Brexit.
Negotiations on the trade and cooperation agreement have taken place on several occasions since the so-called transition period, which began after the entry into force of Brexit on January 31. This time the talks lasted a week before they stopped.
In addition to the remaining three key issues, most are said to be clear, according to The Guardian.
If the parties manage to reach an agreement, then they must be approved, by the Union, by the European Parliament. MPs are planning an additional session on December 28, three days before the deadline.
