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Negotiators have moved forward during talks in London this week to resolve some of the biggest issues yet, raising hopes that a deal can be reached in early November. Both parties have started work on the text of a level playing field agreement and are nearing the completion of a joint document covering state aid. The UK and the EU have also come close to deciding essential aspects of how any deal will be enforced. But significant differences still persist, particularly on the playing field, law enforcement and fisheries, but the progress made is an encouraging sign that they are moving closer to breaking out of the deadlock after seven months of often bitter talks.
There has been a remarkable change in mood and gears in recent days, with London and Brussels now working hard to finalize as many chapters of a potential deal as possible.
But the threat of a major collapse in a Brexit deal remains strong, with EU officials emphasizing that they see any deal as a one-time deal in which nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
Fishing remains a major obstacle, and both sides continue to argue over the rights EU vessels will have over British waters and their share of the quota after Brexit.
France is one of several coastal states requiring continuous access to waters between six and 12 miles off the coast of Britain, a deal they benefited from before Brexit.
Negotiators believe that if these issues continue to be a problem, it will require significant and urgent political intervention from leaders Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron.
But the French minister for Europe has sent the UK another brutal warning, insisting that “there is no reason” to give in to British demands.
Clement Beaune told the Senate: “The face of Brexit will be the face of our fishermen, so we must be able to tell them that their interests were protected.
“There is no reason for us to give in to British pressure.”
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8.25am update: FINALLY get it! The EU faces the devastation of a key industry, so why brag no deal?
The EU faces a devastating blow to its steel industry if the UK leaves the bloc without a trade deal.
A senior EU steel industry official warned that a no-deal Brexit would be hugely business-destructive.
The expert warned that the impact of Britain’s departure under WTO terms would be compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which is currently in its second wave.
Alessandro Sciamarelli, an official with the European Steel Association (Eurofer), said in a webinar: “Brexit remains a threat because there is a high probability that at the end of the day we will not reach an agreement.
“We are preparing for that.”
He added: “At Eurofer, we are very much against a no-deal Brexit.”
8.15am update: UK to reject Trump-style ‘Britain first’ trade police after Brexit
The UK will turn its back on a Donald Trump-style “Britain first” post-Brexit economic strategy with criticism of “globalization without values” in a keynote address in London.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will say in a Chatham House speech that she wants a “values-driven free trade agenda” after Brexit, and will emphasize that the UK is “learning from the mistakes of the past” regarding the Commerce.
The cabinet minister will also criticize the “mercenaries of global trade” and the agenda of “value-free globalization”, which she claims has left state-owned companies selling subsidized goods around the world and “undermining free enterprise” .
Ms Truss will say that in a moment of “America First” and the “strategic autonomy” of the EU, the UK “will not raise the drawbridge in an autarkic Britain First approach.”
She will add protectionism and a “value-free” approach to globalization has had a “corrosive effect on the foundations of our rule-based free trade system, spreading disillusionment and mistrust.”
The International Trade Secretary will also do a dig in Brussels, calling the EU “phobic of innovation” with “its wall of high tariffs”.
8:00 am update: ‘Disastrous drop in UK car production’ – Brexiteer warning
John Redwood, tory Brexiteer, tweeted: “More disastrous drop in UK car production while still in the EU single market.
“The threat to UK car manufacturing was always the policy of stopping diesel and gasoline vehicles, and now anti-virus policies, not Brexit.”
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