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UK and EU agree to 'go the extra mile' and extend Brexit trade talks
Updated 03:45, 14-Dec-2020
Katherine Berjikian
Europe;
02:40

 

The UK and EU have agreed to extend the Brexit trade talks beyond the stated Sunday deadline, the latest in a string of extensions to 'hard' deadlines.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have released a joint statement in which they agree to "go the extra mile".

"We had a useful phone call this morning," they said in the statement. "We discussed the major unresolved topics.

 

 

"After almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.

"We have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached."

The talks will continue in Brussels. 

This recent round of trade negotiations has received mixed responses from Europe's leaders.

European Council President Charles Michel has welcomed the latest extension of talks, saying "we must do all we can for a deal to be made possible. We must support a good deal". 

 

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaking to reporters during recent Brexit trade talks. /Reuters

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaking to reporters during recent Brexit trade talks. /Reuters

 

Others, such as the British Prime Minister Johnson, have argued that both parties still need to prepare for a no-deal. 

After the statement, Johnson told reporters: "I'm afraid we're still very far apart on some key things, but... the UK certainly won't be walking away from the talks. But I will repeat, the most likely thing now is, of course, that we have to get ready for World Trade Organization terms."

This sentiment is not new. Before the recent joint statement, Johnson had said that a 'no deal' was a likely outcome, as the deadline for the UK to leave the EU on December 31 fast approaches. 

 

European leaders' thoughts on recent trade talks: 

 

And on Saturday, the UK said that its navy will start excluding European fishing vessels from its waters as of January 1.

Fishing has been a contentious topic during Brexit negotiations, and some have argued that it is one of the main things preventing a deal. 

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya said: "I just don't understand why we cannot agree to agree on fishing. Fishing in the UK is 6,000 vessels employing 12,000 workers in the UK. That's the size of the magnitude of the problem."

 

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said before the extension: "Every opportunity to reach a deal is highly welcome." /Bernd von Jutrczenka/AFP

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said before the extension: "Every opportunity to reach a deal is highly welcome." /Bernd von Jutrczenka/AFP

 

However, some European leaders are more hopeful. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin told the BBC that the majority of the deal, around 97 percent, had been agreed on by the two parties, with only a fraction still left to negotiate. 

"It seems to me that the remaining three percent should not be beyond the capacity of both sides to bridge," he said in the interview. "The fact that they negotiated into the night is an important sign in itself. Where the dialogue continues, that gives me hope." 

Source(s): AFP

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