Germany is calling on the United Kingdom to make a big final push to agree on a trade deal with the European Union in the wake of Brexit especially since fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is already hitting the economies on both sides of the English Channel very hard.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday that COVID-19 has “made an agreement even more urgent” for both sides, even though the chances to get even a basic trade deal by the end of the year are declining by the day.
Britain’s prime minister and the head of the EU told their chief negotiators over the weekend to get back together and push “intensively” to strike a post-Brexit trade deal before time runs out in a matter of weeks.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, right, and Michel Barnier, chief negotiator of the European Union for the brexite, hold a press conference after a meeting at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (Tobias SchwarzPool via AP)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a deadline of Oct. 15, when EU leaders meet again in Brussels, while the 27-nation bloc itself said it would be feasible to negotiate until the end of the month.
After Britain left the EU on Jan 31, it remains in a transition period until the end of the year to make sure trade keeps flowing. If there is no trade deal by then, many fear a cliff-edge departure would hurt the economies on both sides and put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk due to economic uncertainty, tariffs and red tape.
Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium stand to take a big blow if there is no deal, however rudimentary. The EU has insisted that any economic setback would be even bigger in Britain.
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier, second from right, makes a phone call as he leaves the chancellery following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMarkus Schreiber)
Still Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will thrive even if it ends the transition period without a deal. But economists disagree, saying a no-deal exit would be a heavy blow, introducing tariffs and other barriers to trade with the EU, which accounts for almost half of the U.K.’s trade.
“Our door remains open for a close and ambitious partnership with Great Britain. That is and will remain our goal," said Maas.
Talks have been soured by Britain’s decision last month to introduce a bill that breaches the legally binding divorce agreement it struck with the bloc less than a year ago.
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier makes a phone call as he leaves the chancellery following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMarkus Schreiber)
Maas and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with EU chief Brexit negotiator MIchel Barnier on Monday.
Follow all AP stories on the Brexit trade talks at https://apnews.com/Brexit.
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.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo stands outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, center, walks with his delegation outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, right, walks outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno speaks with the media outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 12, 2024. British and Spanish foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday with a top European Commission official for another round of negotiations over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
FILE - Aerial view of Gibraltar rock taken from the neighbouring Spanish city of La Linea, on Oct. 17, 2019. British and Spanish foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels on Friday April 12, 2024 in a bid to take a giant leap forward on talks over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June which could set the clock back. Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo, File)
FILE - People walk past a Brexit information office at the British territory of Gibraltar, on Jan. 31, 2020. British and Spanish foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels on Friday April 12, 2024 in a bid to take a giant leap forward on talks over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain's exit from the European Union. All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June which could set the clock back. Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo, File)
