The EU and UK chief negotiators have stepped back from post-Brexit trade talks after a member of the EU team tested positive for Covid-19.
Michel Barnier
of the European Union said his UK counterpart Lord David Frost had agreed to
postpone negotiations between them for a "short period".
Mr. Barnier said
his team would continue the discussion in "full respect" to the
safety guidelines.
They are locked
in negotiations as the clock counts below a December deadline.
Following the
end of Britain's post-Brexit transition period in January 2021, the two sides are
seeking an agreement to control their trade relations.
Fishing rights, competition rules and enforcement of any deal will remain major areas of disagreement.
On Thursday, Mr Barnier tweeted that a member of his negotiating team tested positive for the virus, as negotiations on a deal in Brussels, continue.
🇪🇺🇬🇧 update: one of the negotiators in my team has tested positive for COVID-19. With @DavidGHFrost we have decided to suspend the negotiations at our level for a short period. The teams will continue their work in full respect of guidelines.
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) November 19, 2020
"With David
Frost, we have decided to postpone our level of negotiations for a short
period," he said.
In response,
Lord Frost stated that he was "in close contact with Michel Barnier about
the situation," and that "the health of our teams comes".
BBC Brussels
correspondent Nick Beke said he was told that Mr. Barnier will now
self-quarantine after the team member exam results.
Our correspondent said that it was not clear how long the talks at the top-level
talks would last.
But he said that it was understood that no members of the UK team in Brussels would be required to self-segregate, and most of them would soon return to London, with talks continuing from afar.
The suspension
of negotiations between the chief negotiators will come as an unethical
development, with five weeks remaining just before the December 31 deadline.
European Union
leaders are holding a video conference later on Thursday and can discuss the
latest developments - although this is not officially on the agenda.
On Sunday,
before the latest round of talks began, Lord Frost said that "there has
been some progress in a positive direction in recent times".
But he cautioned
both sides not to "succeed in striking an agreement", not yet agreeing
with "key elements".
He said any deal
would have to be "compatible with our sovereignty", and would allow
the UK to "take back control of our laws, our trade, and our waters".
Sticking Points
The two sides
are seeking to reach an agreement on a government subsidy for the industry to
the extent that the EU can prevent unfair competition with Britain.
They are also
negotiating how closely Britain should follow the EU's social, labor and
environmental standards after the transition.
They do not
agree on how such promises should be implemented - there are disputes with the
European Union in terms of demands for stronger powers.
The UK and EU teams are also worried about how much European fishing boats should have access to British waters and how much they will be allowed to catch from next year.
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