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Brussels has said progress is being made on Brexit talks that were interrupted this week by an EU negotiator who tested positive for Covid-19, as diplomats said ideas such as temporary agreements and clauses were being explored. review in search of an agreement.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on Friday that “after difficult weeks with very, very slow progress, we have now seen in the last days better progress, more movement in important files”, although she also highlighted that a EU – The UK trade deal was not yet secure.
She specifically cited the progress made in establishing rules on state subsidies for businesses, one of the key issues open in the talks.
“There are still a few meters to go to the finish line,” said Ms Von der Leyen. “The time pressure is high without a doubt.”
An EU diplomat confirmed “tangible progress in several areas of the negotiations” and warned that “the gaps are only slowly narrowing” on key points of EU fishing rights in British waters, fair competition conditions for companies and how to enforce any agreement that is reached.
The parties are rushing to finalize a deal that will allow enough time for the European Parliament to ratify the deal before Britain’s Brexit transition period expires on December 31.
Five days of intense negotiations in Brussels this week ended abruptly on Thursday when a high-level EU negotiator tested positive for coronavirus, driving chief negotiator Michel Barnier and members of his senior team into self-isolation.
The conversations will continue in virtual format for the next week, and will move to London when possible.
EU diplomats said the two sides had been exploring ideas for transitional arrangements for fishing rights as part of a possible deal, but that significant obstacles remained for such a plan to work.
In talks this week, London proposed a temporary arrangement that would not be as generous to the EU fleet as current fishing quotas, but would recognize that the UK sector needed time to develop fishing capacity, allowing the EU to retain important rights in the meantime. .
But diplomats said the plan remained vague, and that a key question was what would happen after the temporary arrangements ended.
Another problem, they said, was that the two sides were in dispute over the UK’s continued insistence that the EU’s access to its waters should depend on the two sides holding successful annual negotiations over the fishing rights of the spaced stocks. between the waters of the EU and the UK.
The EU side has also said that if the fisheries agreements were temporary, it would insist that the agreement contain a review clause covering economic ties and broader trade agreements. Diplomats said this would be a way to ensure that the EU still had influence over the UK in future talks.
The UK rejects the EU demand that duty-free access to the EU single market should be linked to continued European access to British fishing grounds. Brussels, in turn, has refused to allow the UK to separate fish from broader issues of market access.
“The UK will not accept a link between fish and NAFTA and we will not accept something that amounts to a five-year suspension of the enforcement of EU fishing rights,” said an EU diplomat.
There is growing concern in Brussels about the limited time left to ratify any agreement that can be reached, given the need for any text to be verified and translated before it is formally sent for approval by the European Parliament. Officials said the situation would become more complex if an agreement was not reached by the end of next week.
“[The] However, the hope is that the negotiations can be concluded quickly if the necessary political decisions are made in London, ”said the EU diplomat.
EU governments also agreed at their meeting on Friday that “contingency planning” for a possible failure of the Brexit talks should be intensified, despite continued hopes for a positive outcome.
Brussels has yet to confirm when it will implement emergency measures, such as legal action, to ensure planes can still take off and land, and trucks can still cross the English Channel after Britain’s transition period expires.
EU officials said Brussels is wary of doing anything that could disrupt trade talks, including the impression that the bloc is ready to cushion the blow of a no-deal exit.
