Outline of Brexit trade deal could be in sight at end of week, says Irish prime minister
The outline of a Brexit trade deal should be sketched out by the end of this week, the prime minister of Ireland said on Monday.
Micheal Martin was upbeat that the UK and EU could bridge their differences in talks, which are continuing online after a member of Michel Barnier’s team tested positive for coronavirus.
"I would be hopeful that by the end of this week we could see the outline of a deal. That remains to be seen. It's down to political will. One must remain hopeful,” the Taoiseach said in Dublin.
He said that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told EU leaders at a video conference summit that there were common texts on all areas of the zero tariff deal.
Michel Barnier said on Twitter, “Time is short. Fundamental divergences still remain, but we are continuing to work hard for a deal.”
The EU's chief negotiator could leave self-isolation on Friday, with face to face negotiations expected to resume in London at the end of the week.
The trade deal is said to be 95 percent done but critical breakthroughs on the key obstacles of fishing, the level playing field guarantees and the deal’s enforcement remain elusive.
Mrs von der Leyen said last week that good progress had been made to agreeing joint principles over subsidy law.
“While some progress has been made in drafting legal texts, significant fundamental divergences remain in the three key areas of the level playing field, fisheries and governance,” a commission spokesman said.
The European Commission moved to quash rumours that the UK and EU were negotiating an extension to the end of the transition period to prevent a no deal Brexit.
'You either have a deal or you don’t have a deal. There is no possibility to extend the Transition Period beyond that point [January 1]. That date is set in stone,' the spokesman said.
The trade deal has to be agreed and ratified by the European Parliament before the end of the year or the UK and EU will trade on WTO terms, with tariffs, from January 1.
Bernd Lange is the chairman of the Parliament’s trade committee. He warned that unless MEPs were given a finalised deal soon, the ratification procedure would descend into a hurried farce.
We need a text. Otherwise ratification and democratic scrutiny by the European Parliament will be a farce,” Mr Lange said.
“The gambling of Boris Johnson has brought us where we are now. We won't pay the price for that!,” he tweeted.
The European Parliament is considering holding an emergency plenary session on December 28 to vote on the trade deal but it will need the text of the agreement some time before then.
