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Of: TT
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Photo: Olivier Hoslet / AP / TT
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Stock Photography.
A trade deal between the EU and the UK is imminent, according to various sources in both Brussels and London. The British have made far-reaching concessions in the past two days, according to an EU source.
A senior EU diplomat told Reuters that the EU and the UK are very close to reaching a trade deal. However, EU member states must approve a preliminary agreement, which will enter into force on January 1, as there is no time to ratify the agreement in the European Parliament.
Britain has made significant concessions in the deal negotiations over the past two days, an EU official told Reuters. Especially when it comes to fishing rights, the British position is far from what it was a week ago, the source claims.
Fishing impact test
Fishing has been one of the main obstacles in trade negotiations, as the EU has demanded wide access to Britain’s fishing waters.
According to The Guardian, EU ambassadors from member states have been summoned to a meeting on Christmas Eve to start approving the trade deal. The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is also said to have been in constant contact with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the past 72 hours.
Unfinished
But there are also sources within the EU who claim that trade talks are still ongoing, even though they are in the “final phase”, and an EU official is warning of a non-contractual Brexit on January 1.
– It can still go in either direction.
A British government source is also cautious, saying “negotiations are still ongoing.”
British Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says that two issues, fishing rights and a level playing field, still need to be resolved and that not enough progress has been made on a deal.
The European Commission has declined to comment on the negotiations.
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