Here we go. Informal discussions in EU about a potential second Brexit European Council after 15-16 Oct. Growing recognition deal might not be ready by @MichelBarnier Oct deadline. As I've always said, on smthg this imp for both, real deadline was always going to be shy of 31 Dec
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) August 26, 2020
David Frost, UK Chief Negotiator, said:
“We have just concluded the seventh round of negotiations with the EU. As I said last week, agreement is still possible, and it is still our goal, but it is clear that it will not be easy to achieve. Substantive work continues to be necessary across a range of different areas of potential UK-EU future cooperation if we are to deliver it.
“We have had useful discussions this week but there has been little progress.“The EU is still insisting not only that we must accept continuity with EU state aid and fisheries policy, but also that this must be agreed before any further substantive work can be done in any other area of the negotiation, including on legal texts. This makes it unnecessarily difficult to make progress. There are other significant areas which remain to be resolved and, even where there is a broad understanding between negotiators, there is a lot of detail to work through. Time is short for both sides.
“We have been clear from the outset about the principles underlying the UK approach. We are seeking a relationship which ensures we regain sovereign control of our own laws, borders, and waters, and centred upon a trading relationship based on an FTA like those the EU has concluded with a range of other international partners, together with practical arrangements for cooperation in areas such as aviation, scientific programmes, and law enforcement. When the EU accepts this reality in all areas of the negotiation, it will be much easier to make progress.
“We will continue to work hard to reach an agreement. Chief Negotiators and their teams have agreed to remain in close contact over the next two weeks before the next Round in London in the week of 7 September.”
Barnier: 'Those who were hoping for negotiations to move swiftly forward this week will have been disappointed. I'm disappointed, concerned and surprised. Once again UK negotiators haven't shown any real willingness to move forward on issues of fundamental importance to the EU.'
— Nick Gutteridge (@nick_gutteridge) August 21, 2020
Whether Barnier likes it or not, if the deal is not agreed (subject to ratification) by the end of this month the UK will walk away from the talks and move onto a WTO Brexit footing (with all of what that implies as to how we interact with the EU in the remaining months of this year).
