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Angela Merkel has asked Boris Johnson to continue negotiating on Brexit, saying the EU will have to reach a compromise, ahead of a statement from the prime minister on whether it will drop the trade and security talks.
In remarks designed to cool the temperature of the conflicting talks, the German chancellor said both sides needed to find common ground. Johnson had threatened in September to drop out of negotiations if no deal was reached this weekend.
“In some places things have moved well, in other places there is still a lot of work to be done,” Merkel said. “We have asked the UK to remain open to compromise, so that an agreement can be reached. Of course, this means that we too will have to compromise. “
Downing Street reacted in dismay when French President Emmanuel Macron led EU leaders at a summit Thursday to demand that the UK buy into the bloc’s conditions or face a no-deal exit.
The EU had proposed another “two or three weeks” of negotiations, but the summit communiqué said the UK should “take the necessary steps to make an agreement possible.”
Issued Thursday afternoon, the leaders’ statement called on EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier “to continue negotiations in the coming weeks.” Barnier said he would be in London on Monday.
However, to Downing Street’s frustration, a call for an “escalation” of the talks, included in an earlier draft of the declaration, was dropped when the leaders signed it.
UK Chief Negotiator David Frost tweeted in response: “Disappointed by the [summit] conclusions on the negotiations between the UK and the EU. Surprised EU no longer commits to working ‘hard’ to achieve future partnership as agreed with [the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen] On October 3rd.
“I’m also struck by the suggestion that all future movements must come from the UK to reach an agreement. It’s an unusual approach to conducting a negotiation. “
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Friday morning that he had also been “disappointed by the lack of flexibility that appears to have emerged from the European council.” But he emphasized that an agreement was still possible.
“We have been told that it must be the UK that makes all the compromises in the coming days, that it cannot be correct in a negotiation, so we are surprised by that, but the prime minister will be saying more about this later today.” , He said. “Having said that, we are close [to a deal]. With goodwill on both sides we can get there. “
EU officials said they believed Downing Street was seeking to create a moment of political crisis. According to EU sources, the summit declaration was seen by No. 10 and there should have been no surprises.
The change to the original draft had been made before leaders saw the statement and was simply made as a call to intensify talks on the latest conclusions of the summit, the source said.
Raab noted in his comments Friday morning that there had been more “emollient” language elsewhere in Brussels, referring to a statement by Barnier promising to “speed up” the negotiation.
“We are available, we will be available until the last possible day,” Barnier said. “The negotiations are not over, we want to give these negotiations every opportunity to be successful. I will tell David Frost that we are prepared to accelerate the negotiations in the coming days. “
Following the release of the summit communiqué, the leaders held a two-hour discussion on the most contentious issues standing in the way of the deal: how to keep both parties to the deal, the EU’s access to British fishing waters. and the so-called level playing field required by Brussels to ensure that neither party can undermine standards or over-subsidize parts of the economy to give their companies a competitive advantage.
Heads of state and government were asked to put their phones and tablets in lockers to avoid leaks during the discussion.
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Barnier had given a presentation on the thorniest remaining issues.
“Fishing was very prominent in the presentation and in the subsequent discussion and, of course, a dispute mechanism to have a proper process in terms of how to resolve any subsequent disputes if an agreement is reached,” he said.
“I think [Barnier] He feels that he will continue to negotiate until the end to reach an agreement, but there are difficulties. I think it would be fair to say that there are challenges, and particularly in the last three elements that I referred to: in terms of level playing field, in terms of fishing, in terms of governance, that there really hasn’t been enough movement on those fronts at this stage it suggests there could be an agreement, so there is still a lot of work to do. “
