Post-Brexit: "the conditions for an agreement are not met", says Michel Barnier
EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier arrives for negotiations in London this Friday, December 4, 2020. REUTERS - TOBY MELVILLE
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The conditions for an agreement are not met, write both Michel Barnier and his British counterpart on their respective Twitter accounts.
The two negotiators at least agree on one thing after another week of negotiations in London, and that is that things seem to be off to a bad start.
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With our correspondent in Brussels,
Pierre Benazet
The statements of the negotiators are not completely pessimistic since they say that a pause has been concluded.
The negotiations are therefore temporarily suspended and not definitively interrupted.
However, this is a very bad omen since both Michel Barnier and David Frost cite as blocking points the three stumbling blocks on which the negotiations have stumbled from the start: fishing, fair competition conditions and the settlement of disputes to come.
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To read also: Brexit: the final bargaining reveals divisions among the 27
To continue the negotiations, Michel Barnier had given up returning to Brussels this Friday afternoon to keep the permanent representative ambassadors of the 27 capitals informed.
It was only a postponement.
He will now be able to go and inform the 27 and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and he is already talking about major differences with the United Kingdom.
The subject is now moving to the next level since it is Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen who will have to clear the field with already a first phone call scheduled for late afternoon this Saturday.
After one week of intense negotiations in London, together with @DavidGHFrost, we agreed today that the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field, governance and fisheries.
- Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) December 4, 2020
► Also to listen: What Brexit on January 1?
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