Post-Brexit trade talks continue as both sides demand compromise

Post-Brexit trade talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom are continuing but both sides are demanding compromise and just weeks remain before time runs out for a deal to be agreed.

Following the EU leaders summit in Brussels on Oct 15, the bloc called on the UK to move on the issues of fishing and state aid, and expressed willingness for talks to continue until the end of this month.

But the British government insisted it would only return to the negotiating table if the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, admitted that the EU as well as Britain must compromise to get a deal done.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that there will be no more trade and security talks unless the EU adopts a "fundamental change of approach", before stating that the UK needs to prepare for a no-deal Brexit when the transition period ends on Jan 1.

Johnson said: "Given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada-style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for Jan 1 with arrangements that are more like Australia's based on simple principles of global free trade."

"Of course, we are willing to discuss the practicalities with our friends where a lot of progress has already been made on such issues as social security, and aviation, nuclear cooperation and so on.

"But for whatever reason it is clear from the summit that after 45 years of membership they are not willing－unless there is some fundamental change of approach－to offer this country the same terms as Canada."

At the request of the British, the EU agreed to intensify talks on the basis of legal texts, paving the way for negotiations to restart.

The two sides' chief negotiators, David Frost and Michel Barnier, spoke by phone on Wednesday after talks had stalled. Frost later said talks would begin again in London on Thursday.

Following the conversation, Downing Street said the pair had "jointly agreed a set of principles for handling this intensified phase of talks".

There are now just a few weeks remaining for negotiations before any Parliamentary ratification process would need to begin, around the middle of next month.

The UK's "door is ajar", according to Johnson's Brexit supremo and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, but this may not be how the EU side is interpreting it. In fact, Barnier said it is the EU's door that "remains open".

After his call with Frost, Barnier said on social media, "My message: we should be making the most out of the little time left."

At the leaders' summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said they were willing to compromise on the contentious issues of EU access to British fishing waters and state aid. But Macron also said, "We are ready for a deal, but not at any price."

The BBC's Europe editor, Katya Adler, questioned whether the fishing issue would really be allowed to scupper the prospect of a free trade agreement.

Speaking on the BBC's Today radio program, she said: "If they are serious about a deal then neither side is going to allow fish to be the reason the deal falls apart.

"When you look at the GDP of the UK or EU as a whole, fishing is a small percentage. If there is no deal, the potential knock-on effect for other businesses will have a much larger cost, plus there are political and geopolitical implications.

"The EU knows well that it needs to compromise over fish. Barnier has tried to push them to say this to the UK, but they (the EU) want to see first some compromise over competition regulations, or state aid.

"So, it's a kind of 'you show me your cards first' kind of attitude. We keep saying that time is running out, but now it clearly is."

Just as the economic hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic worsens, a "no deal" conclusion to the UK's five-year Brexit crisis would be hugely disruptive to the supply chains that stretch across Britain, the EU and beyond－British business groups have urged politicians to get back to the negotiating table and make a deal.

More than 70 professional bodies representing 190,000 businesses signed a joint statement that said businesses are facing an unprecedented triple set of challenges: recovering from the first wave of COVID-19, handling the second and uncertainty over the future trading relationship with the EU.

The statement said: "Now is the time for historic political leadership. With compromise and tenacity, a deal can be done. Businesses call on leaders on both sides to find a route through."

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com