Britain’s foreign minister said Sunday there is only about a week left for the U.K. and the European Union to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, with fishing rights the major obstacle to an agreement.
As talks continued between the two sides in London, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said “I think we are into the last week or so of substantive negotiations.”
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Britain’s foreign minister said Sunday there is only about a week left for the U.K. and the European Union to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, with fishing rights the major obstacle to an agreement.
Despite the stalemate, Raab told Sky News that “there’s a deal to be done.”
“On fisheries, there is a point of principle: As we leave the transition, we are an independent coastal state and we’ve got to be able to control our waters,” Raab said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faces to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London Sunday Nov. 29, 2020. Raab was interviewed on a current affairs programme Sunday morning. (Victoria JonesPA via AP)
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faces to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London Sunday Nov. 29, 2020. Raab was interviewed on a current affairs programme Sunday morning. (Victoria JonesPA via AP)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier passes a Police officer as he walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, left, with members of his team as he walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
The U.K. left the EU early this year, but remained part of the 27-nation bloc’s economic embrace during an 11-month transition as the two sides tried to negotiate a new free-trade deal to take effect Jan. 1. Talks have already slipped past the mid-November date long set as a deadline for agreement to be reached if it is to be approved by lawmakers in Britain and the EU before year’s end.
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Despite the stalemate, Raab told Sky News that “there’s a deal to be done.”
He said the two sides had made progress on “level playing field” issues — the standards the U.K. must meet to export into the EU.
The biggest hurdle appears to be fish, a small part of the economy with an outsized symbolic importance for Europe’s maritime nations. EU countries want their boats to be able to keep fishing in British waters, while the U.K. insists it must control access and quotas.
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
“On fisheries, there is a point of principle: As we leave the transition, we are an independent coastal state and we’ve got to be able to control our waters,” Raab said.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who met through the weekend with U.K. counterpart David Frost, has said there are still “significant divergences.”
If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier passes a traffic sign as he walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faces to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London Sunday Nov. 29, 2020. Raab was interviewed on a current affairs programme Sunday morning. (Victoria JonesPA via AP)
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faces to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London Sunday Nov. 29, 2020. Raab was interviewed on a current affairs programme Sunday morning. (Victoria JonesPA via AP)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier passes a Police officer as he walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, left, with members of his team as he walks to a conference centre in Westminster in London, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Teams from Britain and the European Union are continuing face-to-face talks on a post-Brexit trade deal in the little remaining time. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
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)
