Downing Street urges EU to resume face-to-face trade talks

Downing Street today urged Michel Barnier to come to London to resume face-to-face Brexit trade talks amid reports the EU’s chief negotiator had threatened to walk away from discussions. 

Top-level talks between Mr Barnier and UK counterpart Lord Frost were suspended last week after a member of the EU team tested positive for coronavirus. 

Negotiations have continued remotely but it had been thought in-person talks would resume in London tomorrow and last over the weekend as the two sides make a final push to strike an accord. 

However, there are major question marks over whether Mr Barnier will make the journey after it was claimed he had told Lord Frost earlier this week there would be no point in coming unless Number 10 is willing to compromise on crunch issues.

Mr Barnier is said to have made clear that he would quit the talks if Downing Street refuses to budge in the next 48 hours.

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said the UK wants face-to-face talks to resume but it is now up to Brussels whether that will happen. 

The spokesman said: ‘We want to resume face-to-face negotiations but… it’s for the EU to decide when and if they come.’

It came after Rishi Sunak had raised hopes of an agreement being close after he said it is ‘clear what the shape of the deal looks like’. 

The Chancellor said he believed that with a ‘constructive attitude and good will on all sides we can get there’.   

The Government’s official spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), has warned a no trade deal split from the bloc would wipe two per cent off of UK gross domestic product (GDP). 

Downing Street today urged Michel Barnier to come to London to resume face-to-face trade talks

The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast a hit to GDP this year of 11.3 per cent - the largest drop since the Great Frost of 1709. It predicted a no deal Brexit would wipe a further two per cent off of GDP

The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast a hit to GDP this year of 11.3 per cent – the largest drop since the Great Frost of 1709. It predicted a no deal Brexit would wipe a further two per cent off of GDP 

Trade discussions have continued remotely after a member of Mr Barnier’s team tested positive for Covid-19 last week. 

It was thought Mr Barnier would leave self-isolation in Brussels this evening and come to London tomorrow to resume talks in person but that now appears to be far from certain. 

The two sides remain deadlocked on the issues of post-Brexit fishing rights, the so-called ‘level playing field’ on rules and on the future governance of the deal. 

Mr Barnier told Lord Frost during a video call on Tuesday that he believes it is pointless for talks to continue unless Number 10 is willing to shift on the remaining points of contention, according to The Guardian.    

The apparent threat to walk away from the negotiating table comes with just five weeks to go until the end of the ‘standstill’ post-Brexit transition period.

But Mr Sunak painted a much brighter picture of the talks this morning as he told Sky News: ‘The negotiations are ongoing and I think the teams are hard at work, they are working intensively and I remain hopeful that with a constructive attitude…’

Asked if he was hopeful or confident of the talks succeeding, he replied: ‘Both. I am an optimistic person. There is a lot of work going on and I think with a constructive attitude and good will on all sides we can get there. 

‘It is clear what the shape of the deal looks like and as I said, it requires a constructive attitude. 

‘I think on our part we have always been very consistent and transparent about what we need, the things that are important to us, why ultimately we voted for Brexit and what needs to be delivered. 

‘I am hopeful that the EU will see that the vast majority of what we are asking for are things they have already agreed with other countries and we have done that deliberately and as I have said, the teams are hard at work and let’s see.’ 

Mr Sunak said ‘in the short term especially it would be preferable to have a deal’ but he insisted the Government had ‘put an enormous amount of effort and resource into preparing the country’ for whatever the outcome of the talks is. 

His comments came after the OBR predicted the UK’s GDP will plummet by 11.3 per cent in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus crisis – the largest fall since 1709.

The OBR also said a no trade deal Brexit would inflict yet more damage on the economy, wiping around two per cent off of GDP and adding another £10 billion of borrowing. 

Richard Hughes, the chairman of the OBR, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Our estimate of the long term impact of coronavirus on the economy is that it scars the economy by about three per cent. That is the lost output by the end of our five year forecast period. 

‘We did do a no deal scenario which looks at what would happen if we didn’t arrive at a free trade agreement with the EU in five weeks’ time. 

‘That takes a further two per cent off output by the end of the forecast period. 

‘But it is important to bear in mind that we have already reduced our forecast for output by four per cent to take account of the fact we are leaving the EU and that assumes we are going to get a free trade agreement. 

‘So that two per cent would be on top of the four per cent that is already been taken out of our forecast for output in five years’ time.’