EU’s approach to talks led to ‘paralysis’, says government

THE EU’s method of conducting trade negotiations has led to “paralysis”, government sources have said, as they called for Brussels to “adapt” to enable more progress on the post-Brexit talks.

British sources criticised EU negotiators for slowing down talks on less contentious issues in order to focus on the most difficult areas, including fishing rights and demands for the UK to be bound by Brussels state aid rules.

UK negotiators want the two sides to make progress on areas where they are closer to agreements and leave the most difficult issues to be settled later.

A UK government source said: “The way the EU insisted on parallelism led to paralysis. Everything needs to be up for discussion, but it makes no sense to have everything going at the speed of the most difficult issues. They need to adapt their approach to make sure talks throughout the summer don’t suffer from unnecessary roadblocks.”

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, returns to London this week for informal talks with David Frost, his British counterpart, ahead of more formal negotiations next month.

Last week the UK set a new deadline of October for a trade deal with the EU to be signed after Mr Barnier said an agreement was now “unlikely”. The two sides will continue talking through the summer after conceding that Boris Johnson’s July deadline will be missed.

The EU’s demands for the UK to abide by a “level playing-field” of rules after Brexit include proposals for the country to continue to abide by strict limits on state aid, the subsidies that governments provide for businesses.

A UK source said: “What’s needed is internal reflection on the EU side on whether what they’re asking us is consistent with our status as an independent country.”

EU officials fear the UK could pressure Brussels into agreeing major concessions on the most contentious issues if they are not resolved in advance of other areas.