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The Brussels diplomat is expected to update European capitals and high-level members of the EU Parliament on the progress of the dispute over a free trade agreement. He has been locked in negotiations with his British counterpart Lord Frost since Downing Street resumed the process 10 days ago. The couple could return to London on Thursday in an attempt to reach a deal before the mid-November deadline.
Both parties are said to be still working to get past the key points: access to Britain’s fishing waters, future common standards and vigilance of the final deal.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said: “Negotiations continue this week in Brussels. They are very intense negotiations to reach an agreement.
“There is still a lot of work to do. Negotiations are ongoing on all issues, on all fronts.
“We have not arrived yet. Much work remains to be done ”.
UK and EU officials have been working on a joint legal text to put the Brexit deal in writing.
The move is said to have unlocked progress in several areas, including including fisheries where the two sides have struggled to make a breakthrough.
And Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, has recently praised the progress in the talks.
Barnier eventually said that he would dilute the EU’s demand to maintain control of our seas in a bid to strike a trade deal in the coming days.
It is understood that the EU’s main negotiator made the concession last weekend, as both sides held intense talks to break out of the stalemate.
In a desperate attempt to prevent the negotiations from collapsing, Barnier said he was willing to allow the exact amount of fish that both sides can land to decide after the Brexit deal is reached.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has defied the EU’s demands to backtrack on its plans to break the Brexit deal if trade talks collapse.
The prime minister rejected the one-month deadline set by Brussels for the UK to respond after he threatened to sue over the legislation.
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“That’s why we started the infringement procedure on October 1, this dispute will have to be resolved.
“We are fully dedicated to the full implementation of the withdrawal agreement.
“That is an agreement that we reached with the United Kingdom to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to protect peace and stability on the island of Ireland.
“That agreement must now be fully implemented and ready to begin on January 1.”
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