On Wednesday 2 September, the EU’s negotiator for UK-EU relations, Michel Barnier, presented a new report of powerlessness in the face of the British government, which “so far has not engaged constructively”, he said in Dublin at a seminar organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs.
The negotiator was speaking on his return from London, where he had a further informal discussion with the British negotiator, David Frost, on 1 September. A formal round of discussions will again take place in London on 7 September.
The negotiator, who took the opportunity to pay tribute to outgoing Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan of Ireland, again said he was “particularly disappointed” by the lack of British commitment in three key areas. And yet, Michel Barnier said, “there is no time to lose”, recalling that “we must have a final agreement by the end of October” in order to be able to put it in place by 1 January 2021.
The negotiator once again deplored the fact that London did not want to commit itself to strong criteria “for open and fair competition”. On fisheries, he said he had not seen any legally serious text recently, nor had he seen “any willingness to find a compromise”. London’s position has not changed, “contrary to what the British press reports”.
Finally, from the outset, “the United Kingdom has been extremely reluctant to include any meaningful horizontal dispute settlement mechanisms in our future agreement. Yet this is the only way to ensure that what we eventually agree on is respected”, the EU negotiator said.
Link to the speech: https://bit.ly/31RppTR (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)