Businesses consider post-Brexit impact amid wait for new trade deal // Brexit: Johnson to go to Brussels for face-to-face meeting with Von der Leyen

Brexit: Johnson to go to Brussels for face-to-face meeting with Von der Leyen

 

PM to make trip in 11th-hour effort to break impasse, raising hopes of a deal on trade and security

 

Johnson had asked for a break from a telephone call with Von der Leyen to confirm with his aides that there were sufficient grounds to make the trip.

 

Daniel Boffey in Brussels

Mon 7 Dec 2020 19.20 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/07/brexit-boris-johnson-brussels-face-to-face-meeting-ursula-von-der-leyen

 

Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels for a face-to-face summit with the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in an 11th-hour attempt to break the impasse in the Brexit negotiations, raising hopes of agreement on a trade and security deal.

 

A long-awaited crunch meeting will be held in the “coming days”, the two leaders said in a joint statement following a 90-minute call, with sources on both sides pointing to Wednesday as the most likely date.

 

Johnson had asked for a break from the telephone call to confirm with his aides, including his chief negotiator, David Frost, that there were sufficient grounds to make the trip.

 

EU sources said there was no need for him to then make a second call to Von der Leyen to discuss next steps, as Downing Street was in agreement that a make-or-break summit in Brussels was worthwhile.

 

“We agreed that the conditions for finalising an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries,” the leaders said. “We asked our chief negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days.”

 

Earlier in the day the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, had told MEPs the talks were “not far from the very endgame”, warning he would not continue beyond Wednesday.

 

Both sides will need time to ratify any agreement and Downing Street has said it would hold a vote on new legislation overriding the withdrawal agreement on Wednesday, a potentially deal-breaking move.

 

A senior EU diplomat said: “The outcome is still uncertain, it can still go both ways. The EU is ready to go the extra mile to agree on a fair, sustainable and balanced deal for citizens in the EU and UK. It is for the UK to choose between such a positive outcome or a no-deal outcome.”

 

The focus of the negotiation remains on maintaining fair competition over time, EU access to British fishing waters and a system of dispute resolution if the terms of the treaty are breached.

 

EU leaders will meet on Thursday, when they could sign off on an agreement or trigger their preparations for a no-deal outcome, including temporary legislation to keep planes in the air.

 

Progress on the issues of EU fleets’ access to British fishing waters, as reported by the Guardian, was upended late on Sunday night when Frost tabled new demands about the ownership of vessels in British seas. Under the proposals, any majority-owned vessels would not be allowed to sail under the UK flag, sources in Brussels said.

 

Vessels currently need only an “economic link” to the UK, such as landing more than half their catch at British ports or having majority British crews. Companies based in Iceland, Spain and the Netherlands fished 55% of the UK’s fishing quota in 2019, according to research published this year.

 

EU sources had said the two sides were close to a deal earlier on Sunday, but Barnier quelled any optimism, telling ambassadors and MEPs on Monday morning that the negotiation was “difficult” as he explained the new British demand. One senior EU diplomat said: “This has really caused a lot of problems. A paper was handed over late on Sunday night. This is serious.”

 

Barnier said there also remained differences over quota numbers and the UK’s intention to block access to the six- to 12-mile zone, seas in which French and Belgian fleets in particular have fished for centuries. “That is worrying at this stage in the negotiation,” he said.

 

Barnier said the issue of “non-regression” from current standards had progressed well but common ground had still not been found on the EU’s demand for a mechanism to ensure a baseline of minimum environmental, social and labour standards raises on both sides over time. The issue was fast becoming the biggest obstacle to a deal, EU diplomats said.

 

Barnier told ambassadors that he was optimistic that an agreement would fall into place on dispute resolution. Downing Street was yet to agree to provisions that would allow for one side to suspend parts of the deal, known as a “cross suspension clause”, but he was confident about finding a solution, Barnier said.