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8 Dec, 4 tweets, 1 min read
An EU Commission spokesman now says Brexit talks may not wrap up tomorrow after all and that they will 'hopefully continue after' the meeting between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the timing of which is still unconfirmed.
EU Commission spokesman says of the planned meeting between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen: 'That's not where the negotiations happen. The meeting will be to try and lift substantial impasses so then the negotiators can continue their work.'
EU Commission spokesman on Brexit talks: 'We're willing to continue the discussions for as long as necessary.'
EU Commission spokesman: 'If that [Brexit] deal is not in place on the January 1 then we have a No Deal situation. That does not exclude that negotiations can continue from our side, and it does not exclude that we can continue on the basis of the mandate that's given to us.'

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Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
6 Dec
1/ What are the ‘new’ demands the UK says the EU has made in the Brexit talks and are they actually new? There are 3 specific areas of contention that have emerged, one each on state aid rules, the Level Playing Field/Governance, and fish. None of them should be a total surprise.
2/ First, on state aid. The UK says the EU wants the Commission and European Investment Bank to be given carve-outs from the subsidy control provisions in the deal. It says this would create an unfair imbalance, because there would be no similar exemption for British authorities.
3/ This is particularly relevant in light of the bloc's €750bn Coronavirus recovery fund. It has already been delayed by an internal political row, and the EU is keen to ensure that isn't exacerbated by legal disputes with the UK next year. Brussels denies this is anything new.
Read 12 tweets
Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
30 Nov
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.'
Read 4 tweets
Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
25 Nov
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'.
Read 5 tweets
Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
6 Nov
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.
Read 8 tweets
Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
23 Oct
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.
Read 4 tweets
Nick Gutteridge Profile picture
21 Oct
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.'
Read 6 tweets

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