Foreign Desk Report
LONDON: Brussels and London pledged Friday to step up the pace of Brexit trade talks to try to strike a deal by the end of October, after the latest round of negotiations ended with no major breakthrough.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier accused Britain of backtracking on divorce terms agreed last year as he reported “no significant progress” in four days of talks held by videolink because of coronavirus.
The former French minister set an October 31 deadline to reach an agreement on future EU-UK ties, to give time for it to be ratified before the end of the year.
Britain left the EU on January 31 and is now in a transition period until December 31, when it will leave the bloc’s single market and customs union with or without a trade deal.
Barnier’s UK counterpart David Frost noted “limited” advances and asked that both sides “intensify and accelerate our work” in order to clinch the deal. Barnier said the next round of talks would take place in late June or early July as officials talked of a busy summer ahead for negotiations.
Barnier complained British negotiators were seeking to renege on commitments Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson made in a political declaration with EU members last year. Barnier said this declaration legally a non-binding annex to the Brexit withdrawal agreement could be the “only reference” for the talks.
Expectations among Brexit-watchers had been very low for this round of talks, and most in Brussels believe a breakthrough is not likely before the autumn. But despite the lack of headline progress, there appear to be signs of movement in the negotiations.
Barnier hinted at compromise on the vexed issue of fishing rights dear to several EU states including key player France saying he was ready to “discuss what needs to be discussed”.
And from the other side, a senior British negotiating official suggested willingness to accept tariffs on certain goods in return for flexibility on the EU’s so-called “level playing field” rules.
