Europe: It’s the final countdown
Boris turns screw as his deadline for Brexit talks looms and we tell Brussels we could walk in a week
BRITAIN has given Brussels seven days to get a Brexit trade deal in sight or it will walk away from negotiations.
As pressure ramped up on the talks yesterday, Boris Johnson told the European Council president Charles Michel that time was running out to get an agreement signed.
The premier has set a deadline for the outline of a deal to be clear by Thursday next week before an EU summit.
But following his phone call with Mr Johnson last night, Mr Michel declared: ‘ The EU prefers a deal, but not at any cost... Time for the UK to put its cards on the table.’
Lord Frost, the UK’s chief negotiator, yesterday admitted a trade deal with the
‘Our door would never be closed’
EU remains ‘some way away’ despite the looming deadline. He said ‘ quite good progress’ had been made in recent weeks but that significant differences between the two sides remained.
He told the Lords EU committee that ‘in many areas, the landing zone in the nature of the agreement is pretty clear if not exactly pinned down yet’.
But he said progress was needed in areas with ‘big gaps’ remaining, such as fisheries and the level playing field, which remain ‘pretty wide’.
Lord Frost said: ‘I feel we are some way from a deal at the moment, if I’m honest, but we are at least having a decent discussion on this and what’s possible and isn’t possible.’
Pressed on whether October 15 is a hard deadline, Lord Frost confirmed Mr Johnson would take a decision next week on whether he believes a deal is within reach.
But he insisted that ‘our door would never be closed’ and said even if a free trade deal could not be reached, talks could continue later this year on ‘practical matters’.
At a Commons committee last night, when asked if the probability of a deal was 66 per cent, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove replied: ‘I think that is about right.’
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said yesterday that Mr Johnson would tell Mr Michel that ‘time is in short supply’.
Following the phone call, Downing Street said last night: ‘The Prime Minister outlined our clear commitment to trying to reach an agreement, underlining that a deal was better for both sides. He also underlined that, nevertheless, the UK was prepared to end the transition period on Australiastyle terms if an agreement could not be found.
‘Although some progress had been made in recent discussions, they acknowledged that significant areas of difference remain, particularly on fisheries.’
No 10 said Mr Johnson was not expected to attend the council meeting in Brussels.
One of the remaining sticking points is fishing, with the UK insisting there will need to be annual quota negotiations if European boats want access to British waters.
French MEP Pierre Karleskind, who chairs the European Parliament’s fisheries committee and is a member of Emmanuel Macron’s party En Marche, yesterday said that avoiding annual negotiations over access and quotas was one of ‘our red lines’.
‘Who will invest in a fishing boat worth 3million euros if they don’t know whether they have the right to fish in two years’ time?’ he asked.
But EU diplomatic sources revealed that other member states are putting pressure on France to compromise.
One EU diplomat said: ‘ The French realise full well that their demands on fisheries were unrealistic. We need them to climb down at some point.’
But a French diplomat was adamant they would not back down saying: ‘ They [the UK] want to double their catch in their own water... The whole processing industry is in Europe, in France. They can leave their fish to rot on the docks of Dover. It won’t take long before it stops being charming.’