Brexit Talks Going into Decision Week

Brexit negotiations stalled after talks between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyne ahead of the final week of negotiations.

Both the European Commission President and the Prime Minister highlighted in their post-call statement that contentious issues in the EU access to British waters and consensus on future regulations.

Von der Leyen tweeted that "some progress has been made, but huge gaps remain" requiring the UK and EU parliaments to ratify a trade and security deal a week in advance.

brexit talks going into decision week

A statement by Downing Street stressed the need for "dual efforts" on the two sides to rejoin on Monday, led by the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart David Frost.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said after Saturday's call: “While the Prime Minister determined that some progress had been made in recent discussions, significant differences remain in many areas, including the so-called level game and fish.

"The Prime Minister and the President agreed that their negotiating teams would continue negotiations in London next week, which would begin on Monday, so that efforts could be made to reach a deal."

The talks are entering a decisive phase. But Barnier privately warned last week that negotiations were not on a "trajectory" for a deal, with MEPs offering to offer a final opportunity for common ground in the coming week.

On fishing, Barnier told diplomats that there is a big difference between the sides on the quota and that "access to the 6-12 mile fishing zone" remains an important point for France and Ireland, who run their seas Points to the fishing fleet. Centuries.

A source said that the European Union was trying to deal in line to help Johnson overcome its political problems at home but the gap in terms of quotas remained too large for the EU, so that it Could start selling the deal. member State.

But in Brussels, the biggest concern is the lack of progress on issues of standards and domestic subsidies, or state aid.

The European Union has proposed high-level principles on state subsidies, to which both parties will agree. The UK will also establish an independent competition authority and will be able to swiftly retract the dispute settlement mechanism with both parties during the mediation period if there is a clear violation of the rules.

However, Downing Street has suggested that the threshold of unilateral action needs to have a clear impact on trade from subsidies rather than just risk.

Meanwhile, on the issue of standards, the UK has agreed to non-regression from current environmental, labor, and social regulations but has emphasized how both sides will develop their laws over time. "We are nowhere," a source said.

There are also concerns about progress on the customs facility to allow the export of goods and minimum import of checks.

The two sides clashed over the UK's insistence that international standards for goods should be acceptable on both sides rather than EU rules.

According to a leaked memo seen by the Guardian, Bernier worries that it could "derail" the entire customs declaration system.


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