The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has voiced doubt over the prospect of success in stalled trade talks, saying that “we will see” if there is still a way to reach agreement.
Speaking to broadcasters at the Eurostar train terminal in London as he made his way back to Brussels this morning, Mr Barnier said the EU side remained “calm” following the pause in talks announced on Friday night after a week of intensive negotiations failed to bridge differences.
With the UK blaming French demands on access to fishing waters for the breakdown, Boris Johnson was due to attempt to revive the process with a phone call to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later on Saturday.
Just 26 days remain to secure a free trade agreement until the 31 December deadline or face a no-deal Brexit, which Mr Johnson’s independent economic forecasters predict would knock 2 per cent off UK GDP in 2021.
Mr Barnier gave a non-committal assessment of the chances of success as he prepared to board the Channel Tunnel train: “We keep calm as always. And if there is still a way, we will see.”
A downbeat statement issued by Mr Barnier and Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator David Frost on Friday evening said that both felt “the conditions for an agreement are not met”, due to “significant divergences” on the long-standing issues of the level playing field, governance and fisheries.
“We agreed to pause the talks in order to brief our principals on the state of play of the negotiations,” they said.
Following Mr Johnson’s call with Ms von der Leyen to discuss the “state of play” this afternoon, ambassadors of the EU’s 27 member states are expected to be briefed on the situation in Brussels on Sunday.
French president Emmanuel Macron was being blamed by the UK side for eleventh-hour demands to protect his fishing fleet’s lucrative share of the catch off the British coast.
It was reported that Mr Macron had threatened to veto any deal at a summit of EU leaders on Thursday if changes were not made.
However, one EU diplomat said Mr Macron was not the only one with reservations, and several member states had also raised concerns over how far Barnier had moved on competition issues, known as the level-playing field.
“It’s not just Macron,” the diplomat said.
UK sources said that fresh demands from the EU side, including a proposal for European boats to have access to British waters for the next 10 years, had been “destabilising” to the talks.
There was also concern in Brussels at the UK government’s decision to press ahead next week with legislation allowing ministers to override elements of the Northern Ireland protocol which Mr Johnson signed last year, in a way which he accepts would breach international law.
And EU insistence on a level playing field for standards and regulation will have been hardened by Mr Johnson’s comments on Facebook that Britain would look at the “tax and regulatory environment” to help businesses rebuild after the pandemic.
A spokesman for Angela Merkel said the German chancellor was calling for compromise from both sides to find a deal.
Steffen Seibert said: “For the chancellor – and that hasn’t changed in recent weeks – the willingness to compromise is needed on both sides.
“If you want to have a deal then both sides need to move towards each other. Everybody has their principles, there are red lines, that’s clear, but there’s always room for compromise.”
