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Brexit negotiations were stalled following a call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen ahead of a decisive week of talks.
The president of the European Commission and the prime minister highlighted in their post-call statements the controversial issues of the EU’s access to British waters and the agreement on future rules to ensure fair competition.
Von der Leyen tweeted that “some progress has been made, but there are still big differences”, with little more than a week remaining before the UK and EU parliaments must start ratifying a trade and security deal.
A Downing Street statement emphasized the need to “redouble our efforts” when the two sides, led by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost, meet again on Monday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said after Saturday’s call: “The prime minister noted that while some progress had been made in recent discussions, significant differences remain in several areas, including the so-called level playing field and fish .
“The prime minister and the president agreed that their negotiating teams would continue talks in London next week, starting Monday, in order to redouble efforts to reach an agreement.”
The negotiations are entering a decisive phase. But Barnier warned privately last week that the talks are not on a “trajectory” for a deal, telling MEPs that next week offered the last chance to find common ground.
On fishing, Barnier has told diplomats that there is a large gap between the parties on quotas and that “access to the 6-12 mile fishing zone” remains a sticking point for France and Ireland, that point to their fishing fleets operating in those seas for centuries.
One source said that the EU was nevertheless trying to help Johnson overcome his political woes at home to get the deal out of line, but that the gaps in terms of quotas were still too large for the EU to be able to. start selling the agreement to Member States.
But in Brussels, the biggest concern is the lack of progress on the issues of rules and internal subsidies, or state aid.
The EU has proposed high-level principles on state subsidies that both parties would agree to. The UK would also establish an independent competition authority and there would be a dispute resolution mechanism in which both parties could quickly retaliate during an arbitration period if there is a clear violation of the rules.
Downing Street has suggested, however, that the threshold for unilateral action should be a clear trade impact of a subsidy and not a mere risk.
Meanwhile, on the issue of standards, the UK has agreed not to back down from current environmental, labor and social regulations, but there has been a conflict over how the two sides will develop their laws over time. “We are nowhere,” said a source.
There is also concern about progress in customs facilitation to allow the export and import of goods with the minimum of controls.
The two sides have faced the UK’s insistence that international standards for goods should be mutually recognized as acceptable by either party rather than EU standards.
According to a leaked memo seen by The Guardian, Barnier is concerned that this issue could “derail” the entire customs declaration system.
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