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Express.co.uk understands that EU officials in Brussels have had informal discussions with their counterparts in Edinburgh on matters including fishing. It comes as Scotland and the EU reacted furiously to the government’s controversial UK internal market bill, prompting threats of legal action from Brussels if it was not changed by the end of the month.
The most recent round of negotiations between the UK and the EU resumed this week with fisheries and the so-called level playing field between agenda items as the transition period timed out.
Express.co.uk has learned that the Scottish government has become increasingly concerned with Westminster for its approach to the EU negotiations.
One official said Westminster does not seem to want to discuss EU matters and emphasized that a no-deal “benefits no one.
“We seek to have productive discussions with everyone,” said one.
The SNP administration in Edinburgh is also concerned that Scotland’s fisheries are “unclear” about future arrangements, warning that “successive Westminster governments have sold off Scotland’s fishing industry.”
Referring to fears that Scotland’s industry will dry up, Fergus Ewing MSP, Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary, warned that “there was no indication that the Conservative government was not prepared to do it again.”
But Dean Lockhart MSP, spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives Constitution, told Express.co.uk: “We recently heard how the SNP had tried to undermine negotiations on our vital fishing industry during talks with the European Union.
“Now we hear that they have had more talks at a time when the negotiations are at a critical point.
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“We remain very concerned about the ‘no deal or low deal’ approach being taken by the UK government, which clearly runs counter to the interests of the Scottish fishing industry and our coastal communities, putting almost 700 million at risk pounds sterling in exports to the United States. “
It comes as Lord Frost laid out a new plan to try to secure a breakthrough in the talks in which the EU would be offered a three-year transition period to allow European ships to prepare for the changes.
Under the proposals, fishing opportunities for EU vessels would be “phased out” between 2021 and 2024 to give coastal communities time to adapt to changes.
The plans were presented as a last-minute attempt by Lord Frost to break the Brexit deadlock.
Access to fishing has been a contentious topic throughout the Brexit discussions between the UK and the EU.
Johnson’s spokesman insisted that the government will not accept any measure that would compromise UK control over its waters.
“The type of agreement we are looking for is the type of agreement the EU has with Norway,” he said.
“Our position in relation to fisheries and access to our fishing waters has been very clear from the beginning.”
A European diplomatic source said: “We have a long way to go, but if the other troublesome issues can be solved, it doesn’t seem like fishing will stand in the way of the deal.”
Meanwhile, the government was warned that it must face up to EU demands for the same level of access.
Elspeth Macdonald, executive director of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said the Common Fisheries Policy has given away most of the fish in UK waters “to the benefit of the EU fleet” for the past 40 years.
Ms Macdonald said “we are now very close to being able to correct that mistake” and cautioned that it is “imperative at this crucial stage that the UK stands firm”.
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