schema:articleBody
| - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday threw the onus back on the European Union to unblock a trade deal and avoid an abrupt Brexit separation at the end of this year. "I hope that we get a deal, it's up to our friends," he told the BBC, after the two sides concluded a week of talks with warnings that serious differences were holding up agreement by a mid-October deadline. "They've done a (free trade) deal with Canada of a kind that we want, why shouldn't they do it with us?" Johnson said. "We're so near, we've been (EU) members for 45 years. It's all there, it's just up to them," he added, insisting there was "every chance to get a deal" if the EU were "common-sensical". Britain left the EU in January after nearly 50 years of integration, but remains bound by the bloc's rules until December 31 while both sides thrash out the terms of their new relationship. Johnson has repeatedly refused to extend the so-called transition period, despite the tight timetable for talks and disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. British negotiator David Frost said "outlines of an agreement are visible" in many areas but there was "limited progress" on fair competition and state subsidy rules, and a deal on fisheries looked "impossible" without EU movement. "I am concerned that there is very little time now to resolve these issues ahead of the European Council (EU summit) on 15 October," he added after the week of talks with his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier. For his part, Barnier said "persistent, serious divergences" remained. Both sides agree a deal needs to be made by the EU summit to give time for translation and ratification before December 31. Frost said that overall, his meetings with Barnier "were constructive discussions conducted in a good spirit". "For our part, we continue to be fully committed to working hard to find solutions, if they are there to be found," the British diplomat said. A possible deal was in sight on areas such as trade in goods and services, transport and energy, he said. But the stumbling blocks of state aid and fisheries were "fundamental to our future status as an independent country". Failure to strike a deal would see Britain and Europe revert to World Trade Organization terms, with higher tariffs and quotas. phz-jit/spm
|