Brexit: Trade talks 'remain difficult' with 'no significant progress in recent days' - UK government source
The UK and EU's chief negotiators have continued talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the hope of breaking months of deadlock.
Monday 14 December 2020 19:05, UK
Brexit trade talks "remain difficult" and "have not made significant progress in recent days", a UK government source has said.
The UK's chief negotiator, Lord Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, continued discussions on a post-Brexit trade deal on Monday in the hope of breaking months of deadlock.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided to scrap Sunday's deadline for a final decision on whether an agreement will be possible, in order for talks to resume.
However, the UK government source delivered a downbeat verdict on the most recent discussions, which remain stuck on the issues of "level playing field" provisions and fisheries.
"Talks remain difficult and we have not made significant progress in recent days, despite efforts by the UK side to bring energy and ideas to the process," the source said.
"Like any sovereign country we must have the right to take our own decisions and to choose regulations that suit the UK.
"We can not sign up to dynamic alignment through the back door. The UK can not be locked into the EU's regulatory orbit.
"We have always been absolutely clear that the UK will have control over access to our waters and better deal for UK fishing communities.
"There is simply no truth to the idea that we have backtracked.
"The innacurate briefings from the EU side in recent days have made a difficult discussion even more challenging in the short period of time we have left."
Earlier, an EU diplomat had told Sky News there "might now be a narrow path" to a Brexit trade deal "visible", but only "if negotiators can clear the remaining hurdles in the next few days".
"There has been some progress in the negotiations over the last few days, but sometimes substantial gaps still need to be bridged," they told Sky's Europe Correspondent Adam Parsons.
A second EU diplomat told our correspondent that Mr Barnier was "more upbeat" than in his previous appraisal of the Brexit talks.
"There seems to be movement but a deal is still far from certain," they added.
Downing Street has described a no-deal Brexit as a "possible" outcome, signalling there had been an improvement in the chances of a deal since Mr Johnson said it was the "most likely" scenario on Sunday.
It comes after the two sides agreed to "go the extra mile" and continue discussions on a trade deal ahead of the end of the transition period on 31 December.
Mr Barnier earlier updated the bloc's ambassadors on the state of play in the talks.
A senior EU diplomat, cited by the Reuters news agency, said Mr Barnier had told them there has been "limited" progress on agreeing an enforcement mechanism to settle future trade disputes.
But they said there were still differences on state aid and fisheries, with the two sides having moved further apart on the latter.
Mr Barnier was said to be "guarded" about the prospects of striking a trade deal before the end of the transition period on 31 December, while an EU diplomat told Reuters that their main takeaway from the briefing was: "Patient still alive... but keep the undertaker on speed dial."
In a message on his Twitter account, the EU's negotiator said "it is our responsibility to give the talks every chance of success" and that the "next few days" were important if a deal was to be in place for 1 January.
Britain left the EU at the end of January and entered into an 11-month transition period, following EU rules and regulations whilst trying to negotiate a free trade deal.
The two teams have been attempting to thrash out an agreement ahead of that deadline, although negotiations have continued to remain stuck on a number of issues.
Mr Johnson and Ms von der Leyen released a joint statement following what they called a "useful" phone call on Sunday.
The pair said they "discussed the major unresolved topics" and that "despite the exhaustion" of many months of talks and multiple missed deadlines, it was "responsible" to keep trying to break the deadlock.
Asked for the latest on the talks, Business Secretary Alok Sharma told Sky News: "The state of the negotiations is, as the prime minister said yesterday, is that we will continue discussing.
"We are of course apart on certain matters, but as the PM said, we don't want to walk away from these talks."
Mr Sharma added that any deal "has to respect the fact that we are a sovereign country, an independent country and that's the basis on which we will do a deal if there is a deal to be done".
Speaking on Monday, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he was somewhat "hopeful" of a deal.
"I am hopeful but I don't want to understate the very significant challenges that face both the UK and the EU side on this level playing field issue and the fisheries issue," he said.
"They are significantly difficult issues and they have bedevilled the talks from the outset. But the fact they have decided to continue the talks yesterday is a hopeful sign and I do take some hope from that."
Speaking on Sunday, the prime minister said: "We're still very far apart on some key issues... but we're going to keep talking to see what we can do."
One his MPs, Sir Roger Gale, has said Mr Johnson should resign if he is not able to strike a trade deal with Brussels.
The veteran Conservative MP for North Thanet in Kent said the prime minister would have "have failed the people of the United Kingdom" and his position in Downing Street would be "untenable".