Slow progress in UK-EU trade talks, Irish foreign minister: difficult to reach an agreement this week

　　China News Service, November 12th. According to foreign media reports, there are only about 50 days left before the end of the transitional period for Brexit, but there is still no agreement on the trade negotiations between Britain and Europe.

On the 11th local time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland stated that Britain and Europe are unlikely to reach a trade agreement this week, and trade negotiations between the two sides may continue until next week.

　　Irish Foreign Minister Covenney said that he hoped "the facts can prove that I was wrong", but the possibility of a breakthrough in the next few days is unlikely.

He also warned that if an agreement cannot be reached next week, "real problems" will arise.

Data map: Big Ben, UK.

　　According to the report, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier arrived in London this week to continue negotiations with Britain's chief negotiator Frost on the future UK-EU relations.

Barnier has recently warned that Britain and Europe still have differences on three issues: a level playing field, contract performance management and fisheries.

　　As the Brexit transition period continues to shrink, Covinni said that it will be "very difficult" for Britain and Europe to reach a trade agreement, but it is still "possible."

　　According to reports, the EU will regard the video summit of EU leaders next week as the deadline for reaching a draft agreement.

A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister also said, "There is not much time left, and we will continue to work hard to seek to bridge the differences between the two sides."

　　According to previous reports, the UK officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020, and then entered an 11-month transition period.

If the UK and Europe fail to reach a trade agreement during the transition period, the bilateral trade will return to the WTO framework from 2021 and re-implement border inspections and tariffs.

　　Since March 2020, the negotiations on the future relations between the UK and the EU have been ups and downs.

On October 16, British Prime Minister Johnson stated that if the dispute still cannot be resolved, the UK is ready to leave the European Union without a deal in early 2021.

On October 21, the UK and the EU broke the deadlock and returned to the negotiating table again, saying that they would continue to negotiate on the legal text of the draft agreement.