Post-Brexit talks deadlocked after latest negotiating round

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Post-Brexit talks deadlocked after latest negotiating round

2020-07-02 21:33 Last Updated At：21:40

EU and U.K. negotiators in charge of finding a post-Brexit compromise resumed in-person talks this week, but the result remained the same, with no progress achieved on a range of key issues preventing a new trade agreement to be sealed.

Discussions ended Thursday a day earlier than planned, as a meeting between the teams' chief negotiators initially slated Friday was taken off the agenda.

Following four days of negotiations in Brussels, the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said “serious divergences remain." Despite the roadblocks, he said an agreement remains possible before the year-end deadline.

Britain's chief negotiator, David Frost, said the talks had been “comprehensive and useful” but had “underlined the significant differences that still remain between us on a number of important issues.”

Both sides agreed that discussions will resume next week in London. Because of the coronavirus crisis, the teams had been forced to switch to discussions via video-conference that did not lead to significant progress.

The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on Jan. 31 but remains inside the EU’s tariff-free economic zone until the end of the year.

The U.K. and the EU are trying to secure a new trade deal, but remain at loggerheads on several key issues. The parties disagree on regulations for businesses and for the fishing industry, with the U.K. adamantly opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters.

Noting some progress in areas including police cooperation or the U.K. participation in EU programs, Barnier said last month that an agreement on fisheries is required for a compromise.

“There will be no economic partnership without robust guarantees for a level playing field – including on state aid – to ensure open and fair competition among our businesses; a balanced, sustainable and long-term solution for our European fishermen and women; an overarching institutional framework and effective dispute settlement mechanisms,” Barnier said in a statement.

He said the “moment of truth” in talks will come in October when both sides will need to have a compromise ready for an accord to be ratified in time and avoid a no-deal scenario which would see tariffs and other restrictions imposed on trade between the U.K. and the 27-nation bloc.

Britain has said that a deal needs to be reached even sooner and there must be major progress before autumn.

“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," Frost said in a statement.

Follow AP’s full coverage of British politics and Brexit trade negotiations at https://apnews.com/Brexit

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.