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A post-Brexit trade and security deal could be closed this week after Boris Johnson made a key concession over the weekend, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told the bloc’s ambassadors in Brussels.
Barnier said the prime minister’s acceptance of the need for a treaty-level mechanism to ensure fair competition as regulatory standards diverge over time had unlocked the talks. His comments came despite suggestions from Downing Street that a no-deal exit remains likely.
Barnier said, however, that negotiations on the EU’s access to British fishing waters had backtracked. The UK presented a document on fisheries on Monday, only to withdraw it from the negotiating table on Thursday, he claimed.
Ambassadors and MEPs in Brussels were informed that the UK’s decision on the so-called “evolution clause”, which ensures that unilateral tariffs are used should the rules diverge significantly, also left work to be done on the “architecture “of how practical it would work.
Barnier said there were three scenarios: an agreement reached later this week that would allow ratification by the European Parliament on December 28; a break in conversations; or an agreement is reached at the end of the year and the agreement is ‘provisionally applied’ to avoid a no-deal exit, with MEPs giving their consent in 2021.
An EU diplomat said: “There may now be a narrow path to a visible agreement, if negotiators can overcome the remaining hurdles in the coming days. There has been some progress in the negotiations in recent days, but sometimes substantial gaps need to be bridged in important areas such as fisheries, governance and a level playing field.
“The EU will continue the negotiations with its constructive, calm and results-oriented approach. Success depends on whether London also wants a fair deal and is willing to accept the inherent trade-offs. “
EU sources suggested that the UK government was seeking better deals on fisheries after making a concession on fair competition.
Chronology
From Brefusal to Brexit: A History of Britain in the EU
Brefusal
French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes Britain’s entry into the EEC, accusing the UK of “deep-seated hostility” towards the European project.
Brentry
With Sir Edward Heath signing the accession treaty the previous year, the UK joins the EEC in an official ceremony complete with a torchlight rally, bowing officials and a procession of political leaders, including former Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas. -House.
Referendum
The UK decides to stay in the common market after 67% voted “yes”. Margaret Thatcher, who would later become the leader of the Conservative Party, campaigned to stay.
‘Give us back our money’
Margaret Thatcher negotiated what became known as the UK’s refund with other EU members after the “iron lady” marched to the former French royal palace at Fontainebleau to demand “our own money back” claiming that for every £ 2 contributed we received only £ 1 “despite being one of the” poorest three “members of the community.
It was a move that sowed the seeds of conservative euroscepticism that would later spark the Brexit schism in the party.
The Witches speech
Thatcher notified the EU community at a decisive moment in EU policy where she questioned the expansionist plans of Jacques Delors, who had pointed out that 80% of all decisions on economic and social policy would be made by the European Community. within 10 years. a European government in “embryo”. That was a bridge too far for Thatcher.
The cold war ends
Collapse of the Berlin Wall and fall of communism in Eastern Europe, which would later lead to the expansion of the EU.
‘No no no’
The divisions between the UK and the EU deepened when Thatcher told the Commons in an infamous speech that it was’ no, no, no ‘to what she saw as Delors’ continued takeover. Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper reinforces its opposition to Europe with a two-fingered cover, “Up Yours Delors.”
Black wednesday
A collapse of the pound forced Prime Minister John Major and then-Chancellor Norman Lamont to remove the UK from the exchange rate mechanism.
The single market
On January 1, controls and customs duties were eliminated throughout the bloc. Thatcher praised the vision of “a single market without barriers, visible or invisible, giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of more than 300 million of the world’s richest and most prosperous people.”
Maastricht Treaty
Conservative rebels vote against the treaty that paved the way for the creation of the European Union. John Major won the vote the next day in a Pyrrhic victory.
Repairing the relationship
Tony Blair fixes the relationship. Adheres to the social charter and labor rights.
UK
Nigel Farage chose a MEP and immediately goes on the offensive in Brussels. “Our interests are best served if we are not members of this club,” he said in his inaugural address. “The playing field is almost as level as the decks of the Titanic after hitting an iceberg.”
The euro
Chancellor Gordon Brown decides that the UK will not join the euro.
The EU is expanding to include eight countries of the former Eastern Bloc, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The EU is expanding again, allowing Romania and Bulgaria to join the club.
Migratory crisis
The anti-immigration hysteria seems to take hold with references to Katie Hopkins’ “cockroaches” in the Sun and tabloid headlines like “How many more can we take?” and “Calais Crisis: Send in the Dogs.”
David Cameron returns from Brussels with an EU reform package, but it is not enough to appease the eurosceptic wing of his own party.
Brexit referendum
The UK votes to leave the European Union, triggering the resignation of David Cameron and paving the way for Theresa May to become Prime Minister.
Britain leaves the EU
After years of parliamentary stalemate during Theresa May’s attempt to reach an agreement, the UK leaves the EU.
Barnier said Downing Street now accepts the principle that as either party develops its environmental, social and labor standards over time, there must be a way to ensure that trade flows are not distorted by the other’s lack of reciprocity. . He described the solution as “unilateral measures”, or tariffs, that would likely apply after a period of arbitration.
He said putting such a mechanism into operation could take all of December, but continued to emphasize the growing differences over access to fishing as the biggest obstacle.
A document presented at the talks last Monday had raised hopes in Brussels that the UK was reconsidering its insistence on annual negotiations on catches, a policy that the EU said offers little stability to its coastal communities. However, he backed down on Thursday, he told MEPs.
The UK has now suggested that pelagic fish be removed from any deal with Brussels and that the quotas be negotiated through the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, of which Iceland and Norway are members. Pelagic fish refer to the species that swim closest to the surface and account for about 80% of the value of the fish caught by EU fleets.
