BARNIER 'DISAPPOINTED AND CONCERNED' BY BREXIT TALKS FAILURE

 

Cyprus Mail 21 August 2020 - by Andrew Rosenbaum

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gives a news conference after Brexit negotiations, in Brussels, Belgium

“I am disappointed and concerned,” by the inability for Brexit talks to progress, complained Michel Barnier, European Commission’s Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom in a statement issued on Friday.

Barnier stated that there has been no effective progress in the talks whose seventh round has just been completed. “This week again – just like during the July round – the British negotiators showed no desire to progress on the subjects fundamental for the European Union.” Barnier noted that this is in despite of the statements by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that negotiations would be accelerated.

“We have still not seen, on the British side, a reciprocal effort to understand European priorities,” he added.

He then explained these priorities:  “There can be no surprises regarding these priorities of the European Union since they have not changed since 2017. We have been repeating them continuously since then, and we will continue, with great patience, to repeat them: Our trade agreement must be accompanied by fair competition standards; of economic and commercial fair play. Our agreement must guarantee a fair and sustainable long-term solution for European fishermen. Finally, there will be no ‘cherry-picking’ or ‘card access’ to the Single Market, since the United Kingdom refuses to accept the rules and obligations of this market.”

The need for a Level Playing Field is not going to go away, Barnier insisted.

“Even if the UK continues to insist on a low-quality agreement on goods and services only. It is a non-negotiable pre-condition to grant access to our market of 450 million citizens, given the United Kingdom’s geographic proximity and the intensity of our economic exchanges.

We are asking for nothing more, but nothing less, than what Prime Minister Johnson committed to in our joint Political Declaration last October, together with the 27 EU leaders,” he said.