• Thu. May 11th, 2023

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen are expected to speak by telephone later today in order to decide on the fate of the Brexit negotiations.

Dec 13, 2020

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen are expected to speak by telephone later today in order to decide on the fate of the Brexit negotiations.
Discussions continued yesterday in Brussels between two teams led by the two chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost.
The talks were said to be “very difficult”, with no signs of any breakthrough on the key issues of fair competition, fisheries and how to settle disputes.
Following their dinner in Brussels on Wednesday night, Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agreed that the talks should continue until today and then, according to a senior Downing Street source, a firm decision should be taken about the future of the negotiations.
The talks resumed on Thursday and continued until late last night. It is not clear if both leaders will today decide to either end the negotiations altogether and accept the reality of a no-deal Brexit, or to keep going.
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It is understood that London’s announcement that the Royal Navy would board European boats and arrest fishermen if they entered UK waters from 1 January did not entirely improve the mood.
The UK is also understood to have proposed tighter restrictions on foreign ownership of British fishing boats, an issue which has in particular alarmed the Dutch and Spanish governments since a significant number of UK boats are owned by Dutch and Spanish.
There are no indications of any breakthroughs on the level playing field issue. 
The EU wants to ensure that, as it evolves its standards over time, British companies, which will have tariff and quota-free access to the single market, do not have an unfair advantage if Britain diverges from those standards. 
A UK source last night said that Boris Johnson’s position remained the same. Any deal must be fair and respect the principles of sovereignty and control.