No breakthrough was made after 14 days of negotiations; talks to resume next week as both sides race to reach a deal
The European Union and U.K.’s top Brexit negotiators warned of big
disagreements between the two sides after 14 days of intense,
round-the-clock discussions failed to yield a breakthrough.
The
two sides will begin their final round of scheduled talks over their
future trade and security relationship in London next week after
deliberations broke up on Wednesday without an agreement in sight.
Less than two weeks before their self-imposed deadline to
reach a deal, the U.K. and EU are still at loggerheads over three issues
that have dogged the negotiations since they began eight months ago:
access to British fishing waters, the level playing field for business,
and how any accord is enforced.
“These are essential conditions for any economic
partnership,” Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said on
Twitter. “Despite EU efforts to find solutions, very serious divergences
remain.”
Earlier
on Wednesday, Barnier told a meeting of diplomats from the bloc’s 27
member states that the U.K. was holding up progress by refusing to
compromise over these issues. The British government sees it the other
way, and is pressing the EU to back down. Both sides say they want a
deal.
“Progress made, but I agree with @MichelBarnier
that wide divergences remain on some core issues,” Barnier’s opposite
number, David Frost, said in a Tweet. “We continue to work to find
solutions that fully respect U.K. sovereignty.”
Non-Regression
The
level playing field -- measures to prevent U.K. companies from unfairly
undercutting their European competitors -- continues to be one of the
most difficult issues, Barnier told the meeting, according to people
familiar with the discussion.
The U.K. is refusing to back down
from its refusal to commit to clauses that would stop it from diluting
its existing competition rules. The country is also unwilling to sign up to
mechanisms to co-operate on strengthening those rules in the future.
The EU wants to develop a mechanism to develop joint standards over
time.
On fishing, Barnier said he is opposed to any deal that would
make access to U.K. waters subject to annual negotiations, but added
there is a deal to be done on the subject.
Despite the negative
tone, Barnier also told the envoys that considerable progress has been
made on less controversial subjects, including police and judicial
cooperation, with agreement on some items now set down in legal text....
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