The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, met in the early evening of Monday 7 December to discuss the state of negotiations on the post-Brexit relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom. They confirmed that the conditions for an agreement were still “not met”. “We agreed that the conditions for finalising an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries”, the two officials said in a joint statement. The respective negotiators and their teams will now “prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days”, they added, paving the way for a visit by Mr Johnson to Brussels, as a European Council is convened on Thursday and Friday, 10 and 11 December.
On Monday morning, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, gave an update on the negotiations with the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU. He rejected any breakthrough on fisheries and confirmed the continued existence of the three main points of divergence which are the governance of a future agreement, the level playing field, in particular on state aid, and fisheries.
Mr Barnier confirmed that the key point of the negotiations is the establishment of “a level playing field, because it is horizontal, it affects all sectors” and therefore the whole agreement, one source reported.
He reiterated at this meeting that the European side had no problem with the sovereignty desired by London, but that questions remain as to how this sovereignty will be used over time and how European companies can guard against possible distortion of competition in the field of state aid.
Europeans would like immediate and unilateral action, which London does not want. On fisheries, the idea of a transitional period during which EU fishermen would retain equal access to UK waters is gaining ground, but there are still differing views on the definition of annual fishing quotas as wanted by London and the safeguards given to Europeans in exchange. The financial share to be paid to the British on fish catches has not been decided either.
In any case, the negotiator felt that the discussions could still take place on Tuesday. But he also mentioned to MEPs Wednesday 9 December - the eve of the European Council - as the deadline for reaching an agreement.
On the timetable, a handful of Member States again indicated that the substance should take precedence. One national delegation, France, even argued that it was possible to continue negotiations in December and envisage provisional application of the agreement from 1 January, with subsequent ratification by the European Parliament.
The European Parliament studied the feasibility of ratifying a possible agreement before 1 January 2021 at a special session to be held on the morning of 28 or 29 December.
Concerns and questions about British bills
In addition, Michel Barnier expressed his concerns about the impact that the votes scheduled for this week in the UK Parliament on two laws that have an impact on the orderly Brexit agreement in force since February will have.
Wondering about London’s motives for using these two votes as a means of exerting pressure on the ongoing negotiations, the EU negotiator advocated a two-step sequence: first focus on an agreement and reach it; then, if it is reached, argue to London that the agreement cannot be transformed as long as there are still laws jeopardising the withdrawal agreement, notably the Northern Ireland protocol.
However, the UK government committed earlier today to repealing the contentious provisions on the Northern Ireland Protocol if the specific talks, led by Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and his UK counterpart Michael Gove, are brought to a swift conclusion. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)