Johnson cool on fish offer from Brussels
The Europ e a n Union has offered to hand up to 18 per cent of fish caught in British waters back to the UK to help seal a Brexit deal.
Brussel’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is believed to have told member states yesterday that the existing offer to the UK is to return 15- 18 per cent of fish stocks currently caught by EU fleets in British waters.
After the briefing, one EU diplomat warned there were "only a few days left" for the talks but the same sticking blocks were in place.
They c l a i med: “Without London taking the necessary decisions quickly, reaching a deal will be all but impossible. Time is running out quickly. There are only a few days left for further negotiations.”
Britain is demanding more than half the fish in British waters be reserved for UK fishing vessels but the EU’S offer is well short of this.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly criticised the EU’S approach to fishing rights, saying its position was “completely unacceptable”.
The o f f e r i s b e l i e ve d t o already have been dismissed, with the UK Government adamant it will not give up 80 per cent of the take.
On average European vessels catch £ 581 million worth of fish in UK waters each year.
Mr Barnier was set to return to London yesterday for talks with his British counterpart David Frost for the first faceto- face talks since members of the team tested positive for coronavirus.
D e s p i t e i n i t i a l h o p e s b e i ng r a i s e d by t he v i s i t , Mr Barnier suggested talks we r e s t i l l a t a d e a d l o c k . Mr Frost pledged to do his “utmost” to secure a deal and insisted it was “still possible”.
He said:" But for a deal to be possible it must fully respect
UK sovereignty. That is not just a word – it has practical consequences.
"That includes: controlling our borders; deciding ourselves on a robust and principled subsidy control system;
and controlling our fishing waters.”
The Prime Minister al s o admitted there were still "substantial and important differences" between both sides.
On a visit to a lab in Wiltshire,
he said: "The likelihood of a deal is very much determined by our friends and partners in the EU. There's a deal there to be done if they want to do it.”