“We are making good progress” and the negotiations between London and the EU are “now boiling down to the two topics that are the most important: a level playing field and fisheries”, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of the EU-Canada Summit on Thursday 29 October.
As talks continue this week in Brussels after having been held in London since 22 October, the President explained, with regard to competition rules, including state aid, that “we're now in depth detailing how could we construct a system that is fair for both sides for a level playing field, with a dispute settlement mechanism and clear rules for both sides”.
“This is crucial. This will be in the next days, the field to work deep into”, she said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “optimistic” that an agreement between the UK and Canada will be in place by the end of the year: it should replicate what was negotiated in the CETA and therefore be less “complex” than the London-EU negotiation. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)