Brussels (AFP)

EU and UK on Friday regretted lack of progress in talks on post-Brexit relationship after another week of talks, but still believe it is possible to avoid a "no deal", catastrophic on both sides of the Channel.

"There has been no significant progress this week," said European negotiator Michel Barnier during a press conference after four days of discussions by videoconference.

"We will not be able to continue forever like this," he warned, stressing that an agreement was necessary by "October 31, in just under 5 months" so that he has time to '' be ratified by member states by the end of the year.

But "I have no doubt that we will find common ground in the summer and at the latest by the beginning of autumn," he added.

His British counterpart David Frost also reported in a "limited" progress report. "The tone of our discussions has been positive," he said, however.

"We are about to reach the limits of what we can do in the format of remote discussions (consequence of the coronavirus epidemic, note). To make progress, we must clearly intensify and accelerate our work" , continued the Briton, joining Michel Barnier on this point.

- "We are going backwards" -

According to a European source, negotiations were particularly difficult this week on conflicting points such as fishing or the conditions of fair competition required by the EU (the "level playing field", editor's note). "The British are no longer even pretending to negotiate," she said.

"There was no effort on their part. It even seemed as though they had been instructed to drag their feet," she adds.

"We are backing off on many subjects", regretted for his part a source close to the discussions.

In summary, the gap remains wide after this negotiation session, the fourth since the beginning of March. And the goal of an agreement before December 31, when the transition ends during which the United Kingdom, which left the EU on January 31, continues to apply European rules, takes a little more lead in the wing.

This lack of progress now makes crucial the "High Level Conference" which is to take place in June between the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, that of the European Council Charles Michel, and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

This meeting, which should be held by videoconference, should make it possible to draw up an initial assessment of the discussions and try to revive them.

One solution would be to extend the transition period - and therefore the duration of negotiations - by one or two years, as London has the option to request by the end of the month. But the British categorically reject this hypothesis.

Negotiators could also decide to speed up talks over the summer with a view to reaching an agreement in the fall.

- "Earthenware dogs" -

"We are entering a month supposed to be key. However, we are in a dead end," says a European source.

"We cannot continue to look at each other like earthenware dogs. Now, we need a political impetus, that the lines move," she adds.

Hard to imagine, however, at a time when the coronavirus epidemic is grabbing the attention of member states and the UK, putting Brexit in the background.

Europeans have been asking for a very broad agreement for several months, accompanied by serious guarantees to prevent the United Kingdom from deregulating its economy in fiscal, social or environmental matters. And they demand access to British waters for their fishermen.

But London, which wants nothing more than a classic free trade agreement preserving its regulatory autonomy, possibly accompanied by small sectoral agreements, judges these demands excessive.

Faced with this stagnation, concern is growing on both sides of the Channel.

On the continent, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin on Friday deemed it necessary, in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, to "prepare, as a precaution, for the failure of the talks".

In the UK, the Bank of England has warned the country's banks that they must "prepare" for an exit without a deal.

And Japanese automaker Nissan has warned: if it fails, its Sunderland plant in the UK - 7,000 employees - could close.

© 2020 AFP