EU states wary of losing fishing rights in Brexit deal
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Some EU member states have concerns about the draft Brexit deal, particularly about access to fishing in British waters, but there is little appetite in Brussels to reopen negotiations.
British Prime Minister Theresa May may be struggling to sell the accord in London, but in Brussels a European official said Thursday both sides had “exhausted their margin to manoeuvre.”
Senior officials and EU lawmakers largely welcomed the draft, which Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, said should lead to a summit on November 25 to seal an orderly Brexit.
Many emphasised that the only alternative to the deal is not a better one, but a ‘disorderly Brexit’, which could be seen as a devastating self-inflicted economic wound for both sides.
“We have a document on the table that has been adopted by the EU and the UK, and so for me the question of further negotiations does not arise,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
In Brussels, European officials stressed that both sides had made compromises in order to reach the draft and to head off a hard Brexit, but some member states have grumbles nevertheless.