Reuters
Published Dec 09, 2020 07:14
Updated Dec 09, 2020 23:06
By Gabriela Baczynska and Elizabeth Piper
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the European Union's chief executive gave themselves until Sunday for last-ditch negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal after failing to narrow differences during a "frank discussion" over dinner in Brussels.
"Very large gaps remain between the two sides and it is still unclear whether these can be bridged," a senior source in the British prime minister's office said in a statement.
He said Johnson did not want to leave "any route to a possible deal untested", and so he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to further discussions over the next few days between their negotiating teams.
Von der Leyen echoed the British comments on the meeting in a separate statement.
The two sides agreed that a decision on whether a deal is possible before Britain finally leaves the EU's orbit on Jan. 1 would be taken by the end of the weekend.
Fears are running high of a chaotic no-deal finale to the five-year Brexit crisis.
The EU and Britain had cast Thursday's meeting as a chance to break an impasse in negotiations but both acknowledged there was a danger that a trade deal would elude them.
Britain formally left the bloc in January, but has since been in a transition period during which it remains in the EU single market and customs union, meaning that rules on trade, travel and business have stayed the same.
That ends on Dec. 31. If by then there is no agreement to protect around $1 trillion in annual trade from tariffs and quotas, businesses on both sides will suffer.
Earlier Johnson said Brussels wanted Britain to comply with new EU laws in the future or be automatically punished, and was insisting it give up sovereign control over its fishing waters.
"I don't believe that those are terms that any prime minister of this country should accept," he told the British parliament, to cheers from lawmakers in his Conservative Party.
Johnson said "a good deal" could still be done if the EU scrapped its demands, but Britain would prosper with or without a trade deal, a phrase he repeated as he left for Brussels.
Failure to agree a deal would snarl borders, shock financial markets and sow chaos through supply chains in a world already grappling with the economic cost of COVID-19.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.