2 June 2020 | UK NEWS
Downing Street has described claims that they were willing to give in to the European Union’s Brexit demands as “wishful thinking”. The Government has also said that the EU is failing to acknowledge the reality of the UK’s status as an independent nation.
The fourth round of negotiations between the UK and EU regarding the post-Brexit trade negotiations has commenced today. These talks will continue over the course of this week via web link, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to these talks, a report from The Times suggested that the UK would be willing to compromise on fisheries and the ‘level playing field’ trade rules if the European Union would be willing to back away from its “maximalist” demands regarding regulatory alignment and fishing access.
The Times was reportedly told by a senior diplomatic source that: “There is only one way to get things moving and that is for the UK side to move, and then, as Frost knows full well, the EU will move too.”
The Prime Minister’s office hit back at these claims with the following statement:
“This is wishful thinking by the EU. We have always been clear there is no question of splitting the difference on level playing field and fish. We are not compromising on those because our position on these is fundamental to an independent country. Any agreement has to deal with this reality.”
The spokesman also said there had to be a “balanced solution” which reflects the “political reality”, adding: “What we cannot do is agree to any EU demands for us to give up our rights as an independent state.”
The previous round of talks had been described as “tetchy” and the talks reportedly made little breakthrough.
Both EU and the UK had previously stated their desire to make this next round of talks more successful. Mr Barnier said it was a “crucial week” for making “tangible progress” across all areas of the talks. A Downing Street spokesman had said on Monday: “We hope this latest round is constructive and we hope that it will keep the process on track.”
A crucial summit between Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also due at the end of this month. We will be covering this as it takes place.
