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Trade talks on Brexit between the UK and the EU are stalled despite the desire on both sides to secure a deal before the transition period ends on December 31. Both sides have expressed that they want to secure an agreement, but red lines have hampered progress.
The EU has demanded the same access to British fishing waters, which is a major red line for Boris Johnson and his team, who want to claim UK sovereignty on these matters.
In an extraordinary outburst by Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister claimed that Britain’s “intransigent and unrealistic” attitude is to blame for the stalemate.
Both sides have accused the other of raising unattainable demands.
Of all the EU leaders, Emmanuel Macron has taken the harshest stance on insiders, saying the French president believes that without a fisheries deal there can be no trade deal.
In a speech to the European-based French ambassadors, Le Drian said: “Negotiations are not progressing due to an intransigent and, let’s be clear, unrealistic attitude from the UK.”
The French minister added that the EU was as united as ever in reaching an ambitious Brexit deal, but the ball was in Britain’s court.
Meanwhile, his German counterpart Heiko Maas, speaking together with the French foreign minister, said Germany wanted “the closest possible cooperation with Britain on foreign and security policy.”
But he warned that without “linking this policy with Brussels” other EU countries would be more important in the future.
READ MORE: Merkel ‘threatened to boycott the summit if no agreement is reached first’
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the talks would enter their decisive phase in the coming weeks, while EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier called for a deal by the end of October.
But neither side has so far indicated that it is willing to compromise on the main sticking points of state aid rules and fishing quotas.
There are also unresolved differences on migration, security, dispute resolution mechanisms, human rights guarantees, and other areas.
And some EU officials now believe Boris Johnson is willing to risk a no-deal Brexit when the transition period comes to an end on New Year’s Eve and fear he will later try to blame Brussels if no deal is reached. .
A discussion about negotiations on the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union after Brexit was removed from the agenda of a meeting of EU envoys next week because the talks have stalled.
EU officials now believe the British government is prepared to risk a no-deal exit when the transition period comes to an end on December 31, and will try to blame Brussels if the talks fail.
The German government, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU council, had intended to discuss Brexit during the meeting, but abandoned it because there was “no tangible progress” in the talks.
Disagreements over state aid rules and fishing quotas have led to a stalemate that the EU says should be in process in time to be approved at an October 15-16 summit of the bloc’s 27 national leaders. to allow ratification this year.
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Beyond the major obstacles, differences also persist in discussions on migration, security, dispute resolution mechanisms, human rights guarantees, and other areas.
The eighth round of Brexit talks shouldn’t formally begin until Sept. 7, but Barnier has hinted that discussions could start this week.
The EU chief said he had no plans to meet British negotiator David Frost this week, but then added: “But maybe next week if conditions allow.”
The UK’s chief negotiator said the EU’s insistence on accepting its terms on state aid and fisheries had made a deal “unnecessarily difficult”.
Mr Frost said: “The EU continues to insist not only that we must accept the continuity of EU state aid and fisheries policy, but also that this must be agreed before any additional substantive work can be done on any other area of negotiation, including legal texts.
“This makes it unnecessarily difficult to move forward.
“There are other important areas that remain to be resolved and, even where there is broad understanding among negotiators, there are many details to be resolved. Time is short for both sides. “
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