UK chides EU but says gaps to Brexit trade deal are narrow

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UK chides EU but says gaps to Brexit trade deal are narrow

2020-10-16 16:28 Last Updated At：16:40

Britain’s foreign minister said Friday that there are only narrow differences remaining in trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union, but insisted the bloc must show more “flexibility” if it wants to make a deal.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce whether he will make good on his threat to walk away from the talks a deal was not struck by the first day of the EU summit, which was Thursday. An agreement remains elusive, and EU leaders said in a joint statement that it was now up to the U.K. "to make the necessary moves to make an agreement possible.”

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain was disappointed by the bloc’s tone.

“There is a deal to be done but there needs to be flexibility on both sides,” he told the BBC. “It feels a little bit lacking from the European Union.”

Raab said differences remained on only two issues: EU boats’ access to U.K. fishing waters, and “level playing field” rules to ensure fair economic competition between Britain and the bloc.

“The issues are really narrow now,” Raab said.

Britain left the EU’s political structures on Jan. 31 and will make an economic break when a transition period ends Dec. 31. The two sides are trying to strike a rudimentary free trade deal and avoid a “no-deal” exit that would hit business and jobs on both sides and compound the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

But months of talks have ground to a halt on the issues of fishing — highly symbolic for maritime nations on both sides — and rules to ensure common regulatory standards and fair competition. The EU fears the U.K. will gain an unfair advantage by slashing food, workplace and environmental standards and pumping state money into businesses once it is free of the bloc’s rules.

London took umbrage at the EU’s tone late Thursday, with chief U.K. negotiator David Frost tweeting that he was surprised by the “suggestion that to get an agreement all future moves must come from U.K. It’s an unusual approach to conducting a negotiation.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the veteran diplomat, sought to soothe tempers, saying that “we asked Britain to be willing to compromise. This of course means that we too have to make compromises.”

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier signalled he expected the talks to continue. “The negotiations aren’t over,” he said. adding that his team would be London-bound for more talks next week and planned to host negotiations in Brussels the week after that. Britain has not publicly agreed to that timetable.

He also insisted that EU negotiators “are prepared to speed up negotiations,” countering Frost who said in a tweet: “Surprised EU is no longer committed to working ‘intensively’ to reach a future partnership.”

Trust between the two sides, already frayed by years of Brexit acrimony, took a nosedive last month when Johnson introduced legislation that breaches parts of the withdrawal agreement he himself signed with the EU only last year.

The European Parliament, which must approve any deal, has vowed not to approve any trade deal if the U.K. government doesn’t withdraw this legislation. Britain says the bill, which has yet to become law, is needed as an insurance policy in case the EU behaves unreasonably after 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.