Barnier press conference after first week of UK-EU negotiations... says trust is needed especially over implementation of existing treaty, and NI Protocol implementation is urgent...
Barnier: Difficulties arising from UK decisions are underestimated..
Customs formalities will be introduced
Financial services will lose automatic recognition in Uk
Uk Certification won’t apply...
as a consequence of Brexit. These changes will take place with certainty in Jan.
Customs formalities will be introduced
Financial services will lose automatic recognition in Uk
Uk Certification won’t apply...
as a consequence of Brexit. These changes will take place with certainty in Jan.
Two teams compared things on basis of two mandate documents - 11 areas opened, except UK indicated did not want to negotiate on foreign/security. We remain open: Barnier.
“There are many divergences” says Barnier.
Level Playing Field we had agreed... UK does not want mechanisms to ensure high standards.
“UK informs us they do not want to commit formally to the European Convention on Human Rights”...
“This is serious, grave”....
Level Playing Field we had agreed... UK does not want mechanisms to ensure high standards.
“UK informs us they do not want to commit formally to the European Convention on Human Rights”...
“This is serious, grave”....
Barnier invokes coronavirus as an example of why EU and UK would want close deal with speedy information sharing....
“A trading solution with the UK will have to have a balanced solution for fisheries” says Barnier - suggests annual negotiation over 100 species of fish is unrealistic, for Norway it is 5.
“The UK has spent a lot of this time insisting on its independence. No one doubts it... so does EU. We need ground rules to cooperate trade and travel and agree to high standards over time,” he says in English...
“An agreement is possible, if difficult” says Barnier.
worth remembering just over year ago then Attorney General, who remained PMs AG until last month said it would not be possible to leave ECHR because of Good Friday Agreement... but Barnier says UK doesn’t want to commit to that as part of security deal
This was what then Attorney General said in Commons in December 2018: 
