Brexit talks in ‘ breakthrough’ on food exports
Deal still possible, says Downing Street
NEGOTIATORS FROM the EU and the UK are reported to have reached a breakthrough on one of the sticking points preventing the two sides signing a long- term trade deal.
The European Union’s negotiator Michel Barnier was visiting London for informal discussions yesterday ahead of the next round of talks next week.
And Downing Street said it was still possible to get a deal.
But the Huffington Post reported that a block over whether the UK will be able to keep exporting food to the EU unhindered after December seems to have been broken.
The website reported Mr Barnier told officials last week that the UK would not have any issues, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove told the Commons yesterday: “The reluctance to grant, or slow pace in granting, third country status for food exports to the UK has been concerning, but thanks to the Prime Minister’s having drawn attention to the issue, progress has been made.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday: “We do still believe that it is possible
to get a deal but we need to make progress because time is obviously running out.”
Asked whether there could be further rounds of formal talks in early October, the spokesman said: “Let’s see how the negotiations progress.
“There’s an EU council that’s due to take place in the middle of October.
“We do think that it’s possible to reach a deal and we are committed to working hard to secure that.”
It comes as Mr Gove said the Government was “committed” to negotiating a new free trade agreement ( FTA) with the EU before the end of the year, but insisted “things will change” for businesses and individuals as they trade with and travel to the EU, whatever the outcome of the talks.
He told the Commons: “It is important that we as parliamentarians all understand that and that we all take action to prepare.
“Whether we secure a good FTA before January or not, whether we get a Canada- style deal or exit on Australian terms, we will have left the single market and customs union - and that fact means adjustments for businesses trading with the EU, changes for citizens travelling to the EU and new responsibilities for Government in both scenarios.”
Boris Johnson previously said Brussels was threatening to use an “extreme interpretation” of the Northern Ireland Protocol to impose “a full- scale trade border down the Irish Sea” that could stop transport of food from Great Britain.
We need to make progress because time is running out. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman yesterday.