Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney not pulling his punches on Brexit. 'The British Government was offered a much longer transition period and they turned it down, yet they're now blaming the EU for it. That's just ridiculous. The decision on the timelines is very much British.'
Coveney: 'I do think a deal is possible but it needs to be finalised this week. We really are running out of time. The consequences of No Deal are so costly and so disruptive. There's a big incentive.' It needs a 'compromise agreement' on fish/LPF 'that both sides can live with'.
Coveney: 'The EU side has been respectful and consistent but also firm. The truth of Brexit is now being exposed in terms of the challenges of it. This is something the UK & EU together have to find a way forward on as opposed to focus on a blame game as regards who's at fault.'
Coveney talks of 'British negotiating trap to try to get everything else agreed then say surely we're not going to allow this whole thing to collapse over fish'. Says: 'We're not playing that game. If there isn't an agreement on this the whole thing could fall on the back of it.'
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Ursula von der Leyen says there's been 'genuine progress on a number of important questions' in Brexit talks 'but I cannot tell you if in the end there will be a deal'. There's the 'outline of a possible final text' on security, social security, goods, services, and transport.
The Commission president says the three well known sticking points of Level Playing Field, Governance, and Fisheries remain unblocked. She says: 'With very little time ahead of us we will do all on our power to reach an agreement, we’re ready to be creative.'
There are 'still serious issues' on State Aid 'when it comes to enforcement' and also 'Significant difficulties remain on the question how can secure now and over time our common high standards on labour, social rights, the environment, climate change, and tax transparency'.
1/ During private briefings this week Michel Barnier said the UK side has been pressing for the Brexit talks to be kicked up to a higher political level but he has pushed back, fearing No 10 wants to turn the last few days of negotiations into a 'mass bargaining session'.
2/ The EU's chief negotiator sees Britain's strategy as trying to orchestrate a 'big tug of war at the end' between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen/Merkel/Macron during which the three key topics fisheries, LPF and governance would be played off against each other.
3/ The thinking goes a leader level intervention worked for the Withdrawal Agreement, with the PM and Juncker/Varadkar, so why not do it again? Barnier said he's open to a few select topics being passed upward at the very end, but the UK wants to leave as many as 30 issues open.
UK-Japan agreement includes a reference to both sides having an independent competition authority. This is something the UK side has previously resisted in talks with the EU.
The Competition chapter of the UK-Japan FTA is not covered by the agreement's dispute settlement measures, something the EU does want in its deal with the UK. But the State Aid chapter is covered by it, with the exception of one paragraph. The dispute settlement in it is binding.
The UK has argued in talks with the EU that dispute settlement measures should be limited to covering just trade in goods. So again, on state aid the UK-Japan agreement goes further than what has been proposed for a UK-EU trade deal.
Michel Barnier: 'The EU Council underscored to our friends and partners from the UK that the EU wants a deal. We want a deal that will be mutually beneficial to both parties in respect of the autonomy and sovereignty of both sides, a deal reflecting a balanced compromise.'
Michel Barnier: 'We will seek the necessary compromises on both sides in order to do our utmost to reach an agreement and will do so right up until the last day that it's possible to do so. Our doors will always remain open right up until the very end.'
Michel Barnier says the EU's 'principles' in the talks 'are fully compatible with the respect of British sovereignty, a legitimate concern of Boris Johnson's government. What's at stake in these negotiations is not the sovereignty of one side or the other.'
Michael Gove tells MPs: 'We'd hoped to conclude a Canada-style FTA before the transition ends. As things stand that will not now happen. We remain absolutely committed..but there does need to be a fundamental change in approach from the EU if the process is to get back on track.'
Michael Gove says No Deal is 'not my preferred outcome, nor is it the PM's' and that 'we recognise there will be some turbulence'. He adds: 'But we've not come so far to falter now when we are so close to reclaiming our sovereignty.'
Michael Gove says: 'It is the case Michel Barnier has agreed both to the intensification of talks and also to working on legal texts, a reflection of the strength and resolution our PM showed.'
UK negotiator Frost is asked whether Oct 15 is really a hard deadline. 'Obviously as we approach the 15th I’ll have to advise the PM on whether the conditions in his statement have been met or not and we’ll have to consider the situation at that point.'
UK negotiator Frost: 'We’ve made quite good progress so far. This is a hugely wide ranging agreement and in many areas the landing zone and the nature of the agreement is pretty clear if not exactly pinned down yet.'
Micheal Gove on EU legal action over the Internal Market Bill: 'We entirely understand the reasons why the EU feel this is an appropriate course of action for them but without prejudicing that...we feel that progress can be made through the joint committee.'