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The Brussels diplomat is set for a questioning on Wednesday morning when he meets with EU27 ambassadors to discuss the situation in the dispute over a future relationship pact. Some member states worry that Barnier’s refusal to disclose exact details of the trade talks means he could be on the brink of losing his nerve as time runs out to reach a deal. Brussels sources have revealed that President Emmanuel Macron is one of the most nervous that the dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights could spell bad news for the French fishing industry.
“States are getting more nervous as they receive less information from the conversations.”
Diplomats and EU officials believe significant concessions should be made for a Brexit trade deal to break the line given the current stalemate on fishing rights and state aid rules.
Barnier warned last week that “significant divergences” between the two sides were blocking any progress in the trade talks.
The source added: “To bridge that gap, some major concessions are required and it remains to be seen whether some EU capitals will sell them at home.”
Barnier will be forced to answer tough questions when he meets with the EU27 envoys on Wednesday morning.
The Frenchman is expected to send a “clear message” to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that the bloc must not give in to secure an agreement.
UK and EU sources have dismissed positive reports that a deal could be reached before the end of the week.
At a joint press conference, the French president said: “Our two countries are among the most concerned about a Brexit that we do not elect. We are particularly attentive to a level playing field, today and in the future, and the question of fisheries.
“The preservation of the activities of our fishermen in British waters is an essential condition, the fair rules of the market in the future are the same.
“On the issue of Brexit, our position has been consistent: an agreement must allow for a just future relationship and France will not accept an agreement that does not respect our interests in the future.”
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At the press conference in Paris, De Croo said: “On Brexit, we didn’t want it. An agreement is important but, of course, not at all costs, and maintaining a fair economic position between the EU and the UK is clearly the important element for us.
“But it is clear that when one is equal in the last minute of a football match, a decisive goal can happen both in the last minute and in the first minute.
“But we’re all the same at a time when we really have to see if we can move forward and get a deal that’s fair.
His outbursts followed a complaint by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove that the EU was making “unfair” demands on the issue.
Gove, the minister in charge of contingency preparations for a no-deal end to the negotiations, said: “The EU still wants to take most of the fishing in our waters, which is not fair given that we are leaving the EU. .
“The EU still wants us to be tied to its way of doing things.
What if there is a dispute? Right now, the EU is reserving the right, if there is any kind of dispute, not to destroy everything, but to impose some pretty penal and harsh restrictions on us, and we don’t think that’s fair. “
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