EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Brexit: 'Positions remain apart on fundamental issues. On the Level Playing Field we have repeatedly made clear to our UK partners that the principle of fair competition is a precondition to privileged access to the EU market.'
Ursula von der Leyen: 'It is the largest single market in the world and it is only fair that competitors to our own enterprises face the same conditions. But this is not to say that we would require the UK to follow us every time we decide to raise our level of ambition.'
Ursula von der Leyen: 'They would remain free - sovereign if you wish - to decide what they want to do. We would simply adapt the conditions for access to our market according to the decision of the UK and this would apply vice-versa.'
Ursula von der Leyen: 'On fisheries here also we continue to have a gap, we haven't yet found the solutions to bridge our differences. We understand the UK aspires to control its waters the UK must on the other hand understand the legitimate expectations of EU fishing fleets.'
Ursula von der Leyen: 'On these and other points our negotiators are working we will decide on Sunday whether we have the conditions for an agreement or not. One way or another in less than three weeks it will be new beginnings for old friends.'

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More from @nickgutteridge

13 Dec
1/ As Brexit talks enter what might be their last few hours, the key hurdle to overcome is how to agree on what the EU calls 'managed divergence' and the UK has dubbed 'lightning tariffs'. Despite the doom and gloom, there are signs the sides aren't quite as far apart as appears.
2/ The EU has dropped its insistence on a 'ratchet clause' which would have formalised the principle both sides should keep up with each other's standards. It's now ready to cater for divergence in the future so long as there are strong safeguards to rebalance unfair competition.
3/ This is a shift from the EU, which previously rejected managed divergence as too messy and risky for its economies. They worried it would create constant uncertainty for them. It thus represents a fair departure from the EU's opening position on LPF.
Read 10 tweets
8 Dec
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.'
Read 4 tweets
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
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
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
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

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