By UK says EU must make substantial shift if Brexit talks are to be saved
The UK says the European Union must make a “substantial shift” ahead of the transition period on the 31st of December if Brexit trade talks are to be saved.
Talks are continuing in Brussels this weekend, but UK sources say it is increasingly likely that an agreement will not be reached in time.
A UK government source said:
“We need to get any deal right and based on terms which respect what the British people voted for”.
“Unfortunately, the EU are still struggling to get the flexibility needed from member states and are continuing to make demands that are incompatible with our independence”.
“We cannot accept a deal that doesn’t leave us in control of our own laws or waters”.
“We’re continuing to try every possible path to an agreement, but without a substantial shift from the commission we will be leaving on World Trade Organisation terms on the 31st of December”.
The European Parliament has emphasised that there must be a deal by Sunday evening to allow time for it to be ratified before the end of the transition period.
Fishing rights remains to be one of the main issues standing in the way of a deal, along with the “level playing field”.
Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney, admitted:
“It won’t surprise me if this issue collapses the whole negotiation”.
“It certainly has the capacity to do it”.
The PM, as previously reported, has acknowledged that a no-deal Brexit may be difficult at first, but reiterated that the UK would “prosper mightily” should the scenario come to be.
Contact Gi National
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
