Face-to-face talks on a UK-EU post-Brexit trade deal end EARLY with negotiator David Frost saying there are ‘significant differences that still remain’
- First face-to-face talks since coronavirus struck were due to conclude tomorrow
- But UK chief negotiator David Frost revealed they had finished this afternoon
- He said talks ‘underlined the significant differences that still remain’ on trade
Talks between the UK and the EU over a post-Brexit trade deal broke up early today as officials gave a gloomy assessment of progress.
The first round of face-to-face negotiations since coronavirus struck had been due to conclude tomorrow after a week of politicking in Brussels.
But UK chief negotiator David Frost revealed today that they would be finishing early.
And he gave a downbeat assessment of the progress, with both sides at loggerheads over issues including fishing rights and trading standards.
In a statement Mr Frost said: ‘We have completed our discussion of the full range of issues in the negotiation in just over three days.
Our talks were face to face for the first time since March and this has given extra depth and flexibility to our discussions.
‘The negotiations have been comprehensive and useful. But they have also underlined the significant differences that still remain between us on a number of important issues.
UK chief negotiator David Frost gave a downbeat assessment of the progress, with both sides at loggerheads over issues including fishing rights and trading standards
In a statement EU negotiator Michel Barnier echoed his UK counterpart, saying there were ‘serious divergences’.
‘We remain committed to working hard to find an early understanding on the principles underlying an agreement out of the intensified talks process during July, as agreed at the HLM (high level meeting) on 15 June.
‘Talks will continue next week in London as agreed in the revised terms of reference published on 12 June.’
The two sides are trying to have a trade agreement in place before the UK quits the transition period at the end of the year.
Boris Johnson this week set a three-month deadline for concluding Brexit trade deal talks.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister would not allow the talks to run beyond September because it would leave businesses with too little time to prepare for the end of the transition period in December.
No 10 confirmed that Mr Frost will start his new job as the PM’s national security adviser at the end of August.
In a statement EU negotiator Michel Barnier echoed his UK counterpart, saying there were ‘serious divergences’.
He hit out at apparent attempts by the UK to agree sector-specific agrements, saying ‘we will continue to insist on parallel progress on all areas’.
‘The EU expects, in turn, its positions to be better understood and respected in order to reach an agreement. We need an equivalent engagement by the United Kingdom,’ he added.
‘We continue to believe that an agreement is possible and in everyone’s interest.’