The Brexit countdown is back on today as the UK and the EU kick off trade talks amid bitter wrangling over whether fishing and security should be on the table.
The PM’s negotiations chief David Frost and his 100-strong team are due in Brussels with just nine months to finalise new arrangements with the EU.
But the two sides have very different visions of the pact that could emerge. The EU wants a comprehensive deal that covers fishing and security, while the UK is fixed on looser Canada-style arrangements that would mean zero tariffs, with separate agreements for other issues.
Trade Secretary Liz Truss hit back this morning at warnings from France that the negotiations will get ‘nasty’ unless access is granted for the EU fleet to British waters. Whitehall officials have raised fears that French fishermen could launch a ‘nightmare’ blockade of Channel ports if they do not get what they want.
Ms Truss told BBC Breakfast: ‘We are not going to trade away our fishing in a deal with the EU or any other negotiating partner.
The UK’s David Frost (left) is in Brussels today as the negotiations with Michel Barnier (right) get under way
Boris Johnson has warned that the end of the ‘standstill’ post-Brexit transition period will not be delayed past December 31
‘We are going to get a deal with the EU that does not involve selling out our fishing.’
Both sides published their negotiating mandates last week, underlining the gulf in their aims.
The EU’s Michel Barnier has said a deal like Canada’s, which would eliminate most import taxes but still require some border checks, was not suitable for Britain due to its close proximity and links to the continent.
Instead, he wants the UK to agree to sign up to a level-playing rules set by Brussels.
The bloc is also arguing for little to change in terms of fishing quotas and access to British waters for European boats – a continuation of the status quo that ministers in Westminster are vehemently against.
French Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin warned the Prime Minister yesterday that negotiations could be halted if there is no agreement on fishing.’
‘We said that there are four topics which are linked in negotiations. On fish and other topics, we play it with emotion, with drama, with passion, with symbols – and we know how to make it a very, I think, nasty battle [on] both sides,’ she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme.
‘A very nasty battle where politicians in the UK, politicians in France are put in the situation where things get very difficult. And at the end we will both lose.’
Ms de Montchalin said the tight deadline of December 31, when the ‘standstill’ post-Brexit transition period is due to end, would not force the EU 27 into agreeing bad terms.
‘If we need six more months we, as Europeans, are very clear that we want a good deal, a fair deal, a deal that can last for many generations to come, and we will not sign for the sake of having a deal. It would make no sense,’ she said.
A high-level meeting to take stock of progress is scheduled for June, by which time it should be clear whether the Canada-like agreement sought by Mr Johnson is possible by the end of the year.
The EU wants to see progress on both fishing and financial services at that summer marker.
Michael Gove, the Cabinet minister responsible for Brexit preparations, said the UK would not ‘trade away’ its ‘newly recovered sovereignty’ during the talks.
‘Our aim is to secure, through a fair and measured approach, a comprehensive free trade agreement, and also find common ground on questions such as fisheries, internal security and aviation,’ said the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in an article on Sunday.
‘I believe we can secure a great new deal for an exciting new era.
‘But it is important that we are clear from the start that these negotiations are taking place in new times.
Trade Secretary Liz Truss hit back this morning at warnings from France that the negotiations will get ‘nasty’ unless access is granted for the EU fleet to British waters
‘Yes, we want the best possible trading relationship with the EU. But we will not trade away our newly recovered sovereignty.’
The outbreak of coronavirus is said to be complicating cross-Channel relations as negotiators prepare to start bartering.
The Telegraph reported that Downing Street and the Department of Health and Social Care are involved in a stand-off over whether Britain should retain membership of an EU pandemic warning system used to stem the Sars and bird flu outbreak.
It comes after a further 13 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the UK on Sunday – the largest jump in a single day.
According to the newspaper, No 10 fears continued membership of the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) could hamper trade negotiations.
As a result, Downing Street is said to have prevented Health Secretary Matt Hancock from travelling to meet counterparts to coordinate a Europe-wide response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Liberal Democrats have called for the trade talks to be postponed and the deadline to be extended to allow ministers to focus on stopping coronavirus.
Acting leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘Then the NHS and local communities can get the funds and the focus they deserve, and the UK can talk to our European neighbours about how we can cooperate against the coronavirus which does not recognise national borders.’