UK PM to Speak to EU Chief on Saturday as Post-Brexit Trade Talks Put on Hold
© AP Photo / Olivier Hoslet
by Daria Bedenko
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Daria Bedenko. Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/uk/202012041081364161-uk-pm-to-speak-to-eu-chief-on-saturday-as-chief-negotiators-say-conditions-for-agreement-not-met/
After the United Kingdom exited the European Union on 31 January, London and Brussels have been engaged in prolonged negotiations attempting to settle the post-withdrawal trade deal. The transition period is set to end on 31 December.
Chief negotiators from the UK and the EU, David Frost and Michel Barnier, respectively, issued a joint statement on Friday regarding post-Brexit talks, revealing that the "conditions for agreement are not met".
The negotiators announced that the talks, the latest round of which began around week ago, had been paused.
The statement added that UK PM Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are to meet on Saturday to "discuss the state of play".
"After one week of intense negotiations in London, the two Chief negotiators agreed today hat the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field, governance and fisheries", Barnier and Frost said in the statement. "On this basis, they agreed to pause the talks in order to brief their Principals on the state of play of the negotiation."
Here is a statement from myself and @MichelBarnier about the state of play in our negotiations. pic.twitter.com/P5Uhg7RQUz
— David Frost (@DavidGHFrost) December 4, 2020
The EU and the UK can't reach a post-Brexit agreement particularly due to disagreements regarding the definition of a level playing field, as well as governance issues and control of fishing waters, with both sides reportedly only agreeing to cede no more than 20 percent of current stocks.
As the 31 December deadline for the transition period looms, there are concerns that the talks might end in a no-deal scenario, which will mean that the EU and the UK will have to trade according to the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
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Michel Barnier, David Frost, Brexit negotiations, Brexit, post-Brexit, negotiations, UK, EU