China News.com reported on April 25th that on the 24th, the second round of the UK-Europe trade talks ended. Barnier, the EU ’s chief negotiator in charge of Britain ’s “Brexit” affairs, said that the progress of negotiations with the EU after Brexit was disappointing, and there must be substantial progress by June. The British side accused the EU of giving the conditions too bad, and the two sides did not give in to each other.
The United Kingdom entered the "post-Brexit era" after officially leaving the European Union on January 31, but because of the outbreak of the new coronary pneumonia, the negotiations were conducted through video conferences.
The latest round of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union lasted 5 days, with as many as 100 officials participating. This is the second time that the UK has held bilateral negotiations for up to one week since Brexit on January 31.
On January 29 local time, the European Parliament approved the "Brexit" agreement. The picture shows that after the voting, the members present raised their glasses to say goodbye. China News Service publishes photos for EU
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Barnier said in Brussels on the 24th that the British side once again reiterated that it hopes to achieve substantial progress before June, and the European Union has the same idea. Although the time passes by one minute and one second, the EU still respects the British schedule.
But he also said that the progress of the negotiations in four areas was disappointing, including justice and fisheries.
Barnier said that the British negotiating team has always emphasized that the negotiations are conducted on the principle of "sovereign equality", but the reality is that a large group is seeking agreement with a relatively small country.
The British government disagreed with Barnier's claims. A British spokesperson agreed that the negotiations did indeed "progress", but also criticized the European Union for not looking squarely at the red line drawn by the British government.
The spokesman said that they are ready to continue negotiations, but some of the EU's proposals are "unprecedented", did not take into account that Britain is "an independent country."
"We regret that the terms of trade in goods provided by the EU are far inferior to the recent free trade agreement between the UK and other sovereign countries," the spokesman pointed out, and the negotiations need to "go forward in a constructive manner", The UK is "still committed to an agreement with free trade agreements at its core".
Although the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, it was still in the transition period until December 31. The real change in the relationship between the two parties was after the transition period ended. It is reported that the two sides will hold two more rounds of talks before the end of the transition period in December. The next round of talks will be held from May 11 to June 1.