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Post-Brexit trade talks between UK negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier suffered a major setback after the EU tabled a new set of demands. The two negotiating teams had been moving towards a deal until Thursday night, when UK sources said the discussions “had gone back 24 hours”. The EU negotiations reportedly hardened its stance after France called for a strong independent regulator to oversee the terms of the deal.
A senior government source said: “At the last minute, the EU is bringing new elements to the negotiation.
“A breakthrough is still possible in the coming days, but that outlook is diminishing.”
With the official deadline of December 31, the outstanding issues on fisheries are fast approaching and remain the main obstacle to an agreement.
Since then, the French Minister for Europe, Clement Beaune, has doubled down on demands for access to UK waters, vowing to veto the entire deal if his fishermen don’t get away with it.
He said: “France is attached to the interests of its fishermen, it is attached to fair commercial conditions, and I believe that it is also the case of our partners that if there is a treatment that is not good and that in our evaluation it is not, they correspond to those interests, we will oppose.
“Yes, each country has a veto, so it is possible. France, like all its partners, has the means of veto, we must make our own assessment, of course, of this agreement, that is normal.
“We owe it to the French people, we owe it to our fishermen and other economic sectors.”
Officials in France have already called on the European Commission to increase no-deal planning.
The idea of ending the discussions without an agreement and continuing the talks in 2021 without the stress of a deadline has also been raised.
The UK has always rejected calls for an extension of the Brexit transition period and vowed to leave on Aussie-style terms if no deal was reached with the bloc.
Mr Barnier plans to update 27 national envoys in Brussels this afternoon via videoconference.
Leaving his London hotel this morning, the EU chief made a brief comment and acknowledged that today was an “important day”.
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EU leaders will meet again at an EU Council summit on Thursday 10 December.
It is slated to be the last meeting of the EU27 this year and could be the last chance for each member state to discuss any agreement.
This morning, Trade Secretary Alok Sharma reiterated that the negotiations had reached a “critical phase” and ordered the EU to respect the UK’s position.
He said: “From the beginning of this process, we have always said that an agreement can only be reached if the EU recognizes that the UK is a sovereign and independent nation.
“It is on the basis that a deal will be made.”
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