The European Union (EU) is giving a “final boost” in an attempt to reach a Brexit trade agreement with the United Kingdom, although there are still deep differences over fishing rights, the Bloc’s chief negotiator said on Tuesday (24).
The UK will complete its exit from the European Union on 31 December, when its current free trade agreement ends. The two sides have been struggling for months to strike a new deal on issues ranging from trade to transportation and energy.
The much later final stages of already tortured negotiations now coincide with a new crisis, as members of the European Union and other countries have halted most travel from the United Kingdom with the aim of incorporating more infectious variant mutations . Coronavirus.
“We are in a really important moment. We are giving the final lead,” said Bernier as he arrived at Brexit to update the 27 national envoys of the block.
At a closed-door meeting, by condition of anonymity of EU diplomats, Barnier said that Britain’s latest offer to split the fishing grounds in British waters in 2021 was “completely unacceptable”.
“Barnier is running a tightrope between London and Paris,” said a diplomat in Brussels for the small but politically prominent fishing community in northern France, which would be affected by any shortfall in EU fishing .
A senior diplomat who attended the meeting with Barnier said that the EU’s most recent proposal on the fisheries sector was the latest and added that regulatory concerns still remain about production patterns and state aid to ensure fair competition for companies Huh.
