Brexit: UK chief negotiator calls for EU ‘realism’

The UK’s top Brexit negotiator has called for “realism” from his EU counterparts ahead of the next round of trade talks starting in London.

Lord Frost said there is “still time” for the two sides to agree on a post-Brexit trade deal for next year.

But he said the EU needed to recognize that the UK’s negotiating position came from that of a “sovereign state”.

His words follow a promise by Boris Johnson to walk away from the talks if no deal is reached by October 15.

The EU said it would “do everything possible [its] power to reach a deal “with the UK, but” will be ready “for a no-deal scenario.

The exchange also comes after Issue 10 revealed that it would introduce new legislation on customs rules in Northern Ireland, should the negotiations fail.

The announcement has raised concerns in Brussels that the UK would not comply with the withdrawal agreement, made prior to its departure from the bloc in January.

But the government said the legislation would only result in “minor clarifications” and was committed to the previous agreement.

The transition period, in which the UK follows a set of bloc rules while negotiating a trade deal, will end on December 31 and the two sides are trying to secure a deal that will take its place.

If no agreement is reached by then and parliaments across Europe do not ratify it, the UK will move on to trade with the bloc under World Trade Organization rules, which critics fear could damage the economy.

Johnson has ruled out any extension of the talks and, although both sides have admitted little progress in recent rounds of negotiations, he has set a deadline for mid-October, when the European Council is due to meet.

In an email to party members on Monday, the prime minister said that if there was no agreement by that date, “then I don’t see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept it and move on.”

‘Well trodden terrain’

Lord Frost, who has led the UK negotiating team in the talks since March, said he will meet with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier on Tuesday at the start of the eighth round of talks between the two sides.

And he said it would “take home our clear message that we must move forward this week if we are to reach an agreement on time.

Lord Frost added: “We have been talking for six months and we can no longer afford to go through beaten ground. We need to see more realism from the EU about our status as an independent country.

“As we have done from the beginning in public and in private, I will reinforce our simple and reasonable request for a free trade agreement based on the ones the EU has signed before with like-minded partners.”

Lord Frost said the UK had “listened carefully” to the bloc team and “noted flexibility” on where it can move, but added: “We have repeatedly made clear that the key elements of our position stem from the fundamentals of being a sovereign state, and it is time for the EU to fully recognize this reality. “

The chief negotiator said Britain was “stepping up” preparations for a no-deal outcome, but also said he hoped progress could be made this week.

Beyond all the talk, there is genuine frustration in the government that the EU still does not treat the UK as a fully sovereign country.

That corresponds on the EU side with a similar irritation that the UK will not budge.

But a bad mood does not necessarily mean that an agreement will not be reached.

And all the spooky vows don’t mean there will be no compromise in the end.

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European Commission spokesman Dan Ferie said the EU has “engaged constructively and in good faith” with the talks so far and will be “fully focused on getting the most out of this week’s round of negotiations. “.

But while he said the bloc shared the “UK’s desire to reach an agreement quickly”, it should be “in line with the long-term economic and political interests of the EU”.

Ferie added: “The EU has made numerous constructive proposals to move the negotiations forward.

“And Michel Barnier has repeatedly said that there must be enough time at the end of this year for the European Parliament and the Council to have a say on any deal.

“Whether or not there is a deal by the end of the year, the UK’s decision to leave the single market and the customs union will inevitably create barriers to cross-border trade that do not currently exist.”