EU: Brexit trade talks still face 'too many difficulties'

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EU: Brexit trade talks still face 'too many difficulties'

2020-11-05 00:21 Last Updated At：00:30

With a deadline closing in quickly, the European Union's chief negotiator in trade talks with Britain said that talks between both sides on even a rudimentary deal still faced too many challenges to yield a result anytime soon.

“At this stage, there are still too many difficulties remaining on important topics," EU negotiator Michel Barnier said as he was on his way to brief the envoys of the 27 member states on Wednesday.

His comments threw a dampener on optimistic reports that progress was being made at a rapid pace on issues such as fisheries rights, one of three remaining major topics that need a compromise solution if a deal is to be found before Jan. 1, when a transition period in the Brexit divorce proceedings ends.

Barnier insisted though that the bloc wasn't ready to give up.

“We are working intensively and will continue working to find solutions," he said.

The lack of progress on fisheries and on the need to have common regulatory standards and fair competition to make sure Britain won't undercut EU businesses has befuddled the negotiating teams for months, as both sides have been trying to strike a trade deal since the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31.

They must do so within weeks if an agreement is to be ratified by the end of the year, when a post-Brexit transition period ends.

The EU is also fighting Britain's proposed Internal Market Bill, which would be in breach of the withdrawal agreement that underpinned the UK departure conditions.

In the trade negotiations, Britain wants to retain as many of the advantages of EU membership as possible without have to live by the bloc’s rules. The EU is insisting on stringent trade regulations to avoid having a giant buccaneering trade partner on its doorstep that could freely undercut the bloc’s state aid, social and environmental standards.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake on both sides, especially in nations close to Britain such as Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

After negotiating in Brussels this week, the talks are set to move to London again in the coming days.

EU, Britain and Spain say significant progress made in talks on post-Brexit status of Gibraltar

2024-04-12 23:26 Last Updated At：23:31

MADRID (AP) — British and Spanish foreign ministers said a new round of talks held Friday over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain’s exit from the European Union were productive and significant progress was made.

The meeting was between Spain's José Manuel Albares, Britain’s David Cameron and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also attended. It was the first time representatives from the four areas had come together for talks on the issue.

In a statement after the meeting, the parties said "discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, with significant progress achieved.

“General political lines have been agreed (on), including on airport, goods and mobility. Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to conclude the EU-UK Agreement,” it added.

All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June.

Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border have made halting progress in the 19 rounds of negotiations so far, but both Spanish and U.K. officials have recently expressed optimism about a deal.

In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. The tiny territory on Spain's southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations concerning the Rock, as it is popularly referred to in English, have had their ups and downs over the centuries.

A major sticking point has been who controls Gibraltar’s airport, which under the proposed free-movement deal would be an external border of the EU. The U.K. and Gibraltar have resisted Spain’s insistence that Spanish border officials be based at the airport, which is also home to a Royal Air Force base.

The British Foreign Office said Thursday that while it did not expect a final agreement Friday, "getting senior political figures from the UK, European Commission, Spain and Gibraltar in one room is significant.”

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless reported from London.