The two chief negotiators for the future relationship between the EU and the UK, Michel Barnier on the European side and Sir David Frost on the British side, agreed to meet by telephone on Monday 19 October to discuss the future of their talks on the free trade agreement, if they do not meet physically in London.
In a tweet, Michel Barnier reiterated, following this call, the EU's readiness to “intensify negotiations this week”, while the UK announced on 16 October that discussions would continue only if there was a fundamental change in approach (see EUROPE 12583/2).
The EU negotiator said he was “waiting for the response” from the UK and said he was ready to discuss on the basis of the “legal texts”, whereas last week London had accused EU negotiators of failing to provide a basis for discussion on fisheries, for example.
However, on the afternoon of Monday 19 October, Minister Michael Gove maintained to British MPs that the negotiations are “officially over” for the time being. The government's door remains “open”, but the EU will have to change its position, he reiterated.
On the same day, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, met Michael Gove in London to review the implementation of the withdrawal agreement and its protocol on Northern Ireland. The exchanges were “constructive”, he said at a press briefing.
“We are making very good progress on citizens' rights”, he insisted.
“We have of course spent a lot more time on the Northern Ireland protocol, where things are much more complex, but a solution can be found if everyone does their bit”, the Vice-President added.
“We will be accelerating the frequency of our decisions”, and the next meeting of the joint committee will be held in mid-November.
The Vice-President, who said he had reminded his counterpart that the draft law on the British market had undermined confidence between the two partners, also identified seven areas in which progress needed to be made, including a list of arbitrators to be agreed for the implementation of the dispute settlement system, which should be ready by 1 January.
The Commission, according to a press release, also asked the United Kingdom “to speed up work considerably on all the measures necessary to ensure full practical implementation, in particular as regards border control posts, value added tax and the registration of traders in Northern Ireland for VAT purposes”.
The issue of the EU's physical presence in Northern Ireland via an office in Belfast has not been resolved and, according to Irish television station RTE, the Commission has reportedly abandoned this idea in exchange for a contingent of EU inspectors working on the spot alongside UK officials to monitor goods or state aid. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)