[ad_1]
The Brussels diplomat told a private meeting of EU27 ambassadors that there may not be a trade deal with Britain by the end of the year. It also revealed that three main sticking points – fishing rights, common rules, including state aid, and governance – continue to block progress. Mr Barnier briefed the EU envoys on the status of the negotiations from London, where he is currently engaged in intensive talks with his British counterpart Lord Frost.
Sources say the two sides have been working around the clock in an attempt to break the current deadlock.
But it has emerged that they are still far apart on the more contentious issues of fishing and the so-called level playing field.
An EU diplomat said: “There are still differences on the three main issues.
“A deal is still up for grabs.”
A source added: “Barnier says the three main issues are still unsolved and he cannot say with certainty that there will be a deal.”
A third EU diplomat said: “We are rapidly approaching a watershed moment in the Brexit talks. Intensive negotiations continue in London. Until this morning, it is still unclear whether negotiators can close the gaps on issues such as equality. conditions, governance and fisheries.
“As we enter the end of the Brexit negotiations, some member states are getting a bit nervous. So this was primarily an exercise to calm nerves in Paris and elsewhere and to reassure member states that the Barnier team will continue to defend the EU’s core interests, including on fisheries. “
The pound slumped on the news, weakening as much as 0.5 percent against the dollar, down from $ 1.34.
And the pound also hit a nearly a month low against the euro.
Barnier was ordered to hold the meeting by European capitals worried it might offer too many concessions to strike a Brexit trade deal on the line.
Diplomatic sources said the quasi-radio silence of the dispute over a trade deal between the UK and the EU had unnerved some EU states.
Last night, a source told Express.co.uk: “The main question is, will what Barnier and Frost trade in the capitals hold?
“States are getting more nervous as they receive less information from the conversations.”
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.”
The French government was said to be leading the resistance against possible last minute compromises in the Brexit trade talks.
Paris believes that the bloc has “moved enough” to secure a deal and it is now up to Boris Johnson to move towards the EU position.
President Emmanuel Macron threatened yesterday to sink a trade deal between the UK and the EU as tensions over the right to fish escalated.
He warned Brussels negotiators that his government could veto any deal that does not guarantee French fishermen’s access to Britain’s coastal waters.
Macron aligned himself with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in rejecting the possibility of a Brexit trade deal “at any price.”
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.”
[ad_2]
