Downing Street has said the Brexit trade talks are at a “very difficult point” and warned that time is ticking if a deal is to be struck.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters: “Time is in very short supply and we are at a very difficult point in the talks.”
Negotiations dragged on until 11pm on Thursday, Number 10 confirmed, as both sides look to hammer out a deal.Both No 10 and the European Commission declined to confirm whether talks are likely to continue into the weekend after reports surfaced that the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier would remain in London, having initially planned to travel back to Brussels on Friday.
Despite optimism in the week that the prospect of a deal was on the horizon, progress appeared to stall on Thursday, with a senior UK Government source claiming Brussels was calling for fresh concessions at the 11th hour and that the prospect of an agreement was “receding”.
READ MORE: Office of Budget Responsibility warns of no-deal impact
Speaking on Friday, a spokesman for Boris Johnson said: “We are committed to working hard to try and reach an agreement with the EU and the talks are ongoing.
“There are still some issues to overcome. Time is in very short supply and we are at a very difficult point in the talks.
“What is certain is we will not be able to agree a deal that doesn’t respect our fundamental principles on sovereignty, fishing and control.
“Our negotiating team is working extremely hard in order to bridge the gaps that remain.”
The Prime Minister is optimistic of a deal
Mr Barnier and Lord Frost, the UK’s lead negotiator, are both personally involved in Friday’s discussions, Downing Street said.
The comments come after Business Secretary Alok Sharma told broadcasters there were “a number of tricky issues” still outstanding.
Fishing and the so-called “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competition on state subsidies and standards remain the main issues to be resolved in the talks.
And with the Brexit transition period due to end on December 31, there is little time left to get a deal agreed by negotiators and approved by the EU’s leaders, Westminster and the European Parliament.
READ MORE: Hopes of deal 'receding' as UK-EU talks continue
European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer, asked for an update on fishing rights, told reporters in Brussels: “Today is still a day for negotiations, they are ongoing, so we can’t make any comments on the contents of what is being discussed.”
The publicly aired Brussels and Westminster tensions came after Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said there was a “good chance” of a trade deal on Thursday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel