SEA SENSE, BARNIER!
PM urges EU to drop demands amid deadlock on fishing row
BORIS Johnson will hold fresh Brexit talks today after the latest bid to break the deadlock on fishing fell flat.
The Prime Minister is expected to warn European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that failure to accept Britain’s right to control its own fishing grounds will sink hopes of a trade deal.
Mr Johnson yesterday urged EU leaders to ‘see sense’ by dropping demands which he said ‘no sensible Government’ could accept. During a visit to Bolton, he suggested the UK had already made ‘a lot’ of concessions and now needed to see movement from Brussels. ‘Our door is open, we’ll keep talking, but I have to say things are looking difficult,’ he said.
‘There’s a gap that needs to be bridged. The UK has done a lot to try and help and we hope that our EU friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves, because that’s really where we are.’
His comments came after Michel Barnier warned that there were ‘just a few hours’ left to secure a deal before the EU’s self-imposed deadline tomorrow night. The EU’s chief negotiator told the European Parliament that the two sides now stand at the ‘moment of truth’ with
‘There’s a gap that needs to be bridged’
a ‘very narrow’ path to securing a breakthrough as talks resumed in Brussels.
‘We have very little time remaining, just a few hours, to work through these negotiations if we want this agreement to enter into force on January 1,’ he said.
Despite the warning, Mr Barnier and his UK counterpart Lord Frost met for just a half-hour stocktake yesterday.
Mr Barnier held talks with ambassadors from EU coastal states to agree a new offer on fishing after the EU’s derisory initial offer was rejected out of hand.
The EU had initially offered to hand back a maximum of 15 per cent of its share of fishing quotas from UK waters, with cuts phased in over ten years.
Mr Barnier is understood to have suggested a slightly improved offer that would see up to 23 per cent of stocks returned over seven years.
But British sources, who are pushing for 60 per cent of stocks over a transition period lasting no more than three years, described the proposal as ‘unacceptable’. One source close to the talks said: ‘They still don’t get it. This is nowhere near where they need to be for a deal.’
Emmanuel Macron is said to be refusing to allow Mr Barnier to make a more realistic offer on fish. Former Brexit minister David Jones predicted yesterday that the French president’s stance could sink hopes of a deal.
UK sources said EU proposals on state aid also remain ‘unacceptable’. Mr Barnier has demanded that the EU has the right to retaliate if Britain hands out excessive subsidies to domestic industries. But he is so far refusing to reciprocate, meaning the UK would have no redress if EU states handed out lavish subsidies to help their firms undercut British competitors.
Sources on both sides of the Channel believe a deal is possible this weekend, but warned that talks could drag on up to and beyond Christmas – or even collapse altogether.