EU’s Barnier warns of ‘serious divergences’ with UK over deal
Fishing and justice are among the sticking points
THE EUROPEAN Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned there were “very serious divergences” between the EU and the UK which mean it will “not be business as usual” after Brexit.
At the end of four days of talks in Brussels – the first round of negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal – Mr Barnier said the discussions between the two sides had been “constructive”.
However, he warned that there could be no going back on past commitments if they were to reach an agreement that worked for both sides.
Boris Johnson has said he wants a comprehensive agreement on Britain’s future relationship with the EU by the end of the Brexit transition period, at the end of the year, and has ruled out any extension.
Mr Barnier said the negotiations would be “challenging” with differences over fishing rights, criminal justice issues and the extent to which the UK was prepared to maintain a “level playing field” with EU regulations.
“To be completely frank with you... there are many divergences and they are very serious divergences. Which is probably quite natural after a first round of negotiations,” he said.
“Our differences come as no surprise, especially after only one round of negotiations, but some are very, very difficult.
“However, I continue to believe that we can reach a good agreement for both sides.”
Mr Barnier disclosed he had sought and received assurances from Britain’s lead negotiator David Frost that the UK would respect all of its legal undertakings in the Withdrawal Agreement. He said that Brussels would be monitoring “very closely” the UK’s implementation of the terms in relation to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
“This a condition for the trust that we need now to build our future partnership on a good basis,” he said.
“On the Ireland protocol... it is about implementing a quite specific agreement and doing that together in a pragmatic and operational way.
“We will follow the implementation very closely.”
On fisheries, Mr Barnier again rejected UK proposals for annual negotiations on quotas, saying EU fishermen needed “predictability”, and made clear that agreement on the issue had to be part of any wider deal.
“A balanced solution on fisheries should be part of the trade agreement – if we want a trade agreement,” he said.
Mr Barnier said the British negotiators had also made clear they did not want to commit formally to continuing to apply the European Convention on Human Rights.
A UK Government spokesman welcomed the “constructive tone” on both sides but warned that the negotiations would be “tough”.
“Following detailed discussions, we now have a good idea where both parties are coming from,” the spokesman said. “The
UK team made clear that, on January 1, 2021, we would regain our legal and economic independence – and that the future relationship must reflect that fact.”
British officials said that on both the issue of fisheries and the “level playing fields”, the EU position went “far beyond precedent”.
On fisheries, they said the EU was trying to maintain the status quo, while the common fisheries policy was one of the reasons people voted to leave the EU.
Mr Barnier warned that failure to get a deal by the end of the year would have “lots of consequences” – unless there was an
extension to the transition period – with both sides required to introduce customs checks.
“That has a lot of consequences that we have to prepare for. It will not be business as usual. It will be very, very different,” he said. “The definitive changes which will happen because of the decision of the United Kingdom and the difficulties which will be linked to that, my impression is they are very often underestimated.”
With talks due to resume in London later this month, Mr Barnier said they would continue through the coronavirus outbreak.
I believe that we can reach a good agreement for both sides.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, is optimistic despite some ‘difficult differences’.