Britain must engage now with EU demands on guarantees of fair competition, fisheries and solving disputes in order to seal a deal on new trade ties by a “strict deadline” of end-October, the EU Brexit negotiator said on Wednesday.
Michel Barnier said London has so far not shown enough flexibility and
creativity on these. But he believed a deal on new relationship to
replace decades of close-knit cooperation after Brexit from 2021 was
still possible, if difficult.
“On all these issues the UK side continues to disappoint,” Barnier
told a seminar. “These are no technocratic issues. At stake are tens of
thousands of European jobs and livelihoods.... our safety and wellbeing,
our environment and climate, our fundamental rights.”
Britain
became the first country to leave the EU last January and is now in a
standstill transition period to allow both sides to agree a new deal on
everything from trade to security to nuclear cooperation.
Barnier
said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was shunning the EU’s
demands for clarity on Britain’s future state aid system and that there
would not be a deal without a “long-term, balanced and sustainable” deal
on fish.
“How can we conclude our long-term economic partnership
agreement ... without knowing which system of state aid or subsidies
the UK will put in place, without any assurance that the UK will not use
its new regulatory autonomy to distort competition with us in the
future?” Barnier said in a speech organised by an Irish think tank.
“We are ready and we want a deal - but not at any price. We will never seal a deal to the detriment of our single market.” ... more at Reuters
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