“This is not going anywhere” : it is a European source very familiar with the subject, which thus qualifies the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) on the nature of their future relationship “post-Brexit” from 1er January 2021. And “It will not go anywhere in September”, continues this interlocutor, while two rounds of negotiations are planned this month – the first begins Tuesday, September 8 – between the teams of Michel Barnier, on the Brussels side, and David Frost, on the British side. “The UK hasn’t budged, they haven’t negotiated. Nothing will happen before October ”, pursues a diplomat.
On both sides of the Channel, we have been especially busy managing the crisis due to the new coronavirus and that is not over. What is more, Boris Johnson probably wants to let the Conservative Party congress pass in October, before tackling the Brexit issue more actively.
Negotiations between London and Brussels still stumble on the same two subjects. Fishing, first: the Europeans are demanding unchanged access to British waters for their fishermen, while the British want at least to see their fishing rights doubled in their territorial waters. Only eight member states – including France – are concerned by this subject, but, for the moment, the Twenty-Seven have remained united.
“Barnier attempted an opening, but the eight European ministers for fisheries called him to order”, confides a diplomat. Since then, the European chief negotiator has not let go: “Without a balanced and sustainable long-term solution on fisheries, there will simply be no economic partnership “, he repeated on September 2.
The negotiations still stumble on the same two subjects: fishing and conditions of competition
Second issue on which positions seem irreconcilable: the conditions of competition. To give the British privileged access to the internal market – zero quotas, zero customs duties – the Twenty-Seven want assurances that London will remain aligned with community standards, particularly in terms of state aid.
“How can we reach an agreement on our long-term economic partnership without knowing what system of public aid or subsidies will be put in place, without assurances that the United Kingdom will not use its new autonomy to create distortions of competition in the future? “, asked Michel Barnier.
You have 64.03% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
