Number 10 warns EU they must 'kick things into gear' over trade talks or risk no deal

The European Union needs to "kick things into gear much faster", government sources warned on as they said foot dragging over negotiations would leave it "too late" to agree a deal.

On Tuesday, the UK will enter into its fourth round of trade talks with Brussels and continue until Friday.

Speaking ahead of the talks, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, accused Britain of not keeping its commitments and said:  "The UK has been taking a step back - two steps back, three steps back - from the original commitments.”

However a senior British government source said:  “It is the UK that is driving any progress being made in this negotiation. The Commission are either not ready or not willing to inject momentum.

“They need to put some political reality into their approach, and appreciate that they cannot use their usual tactic of delay to drag the talks into the Autumn. By then it will be too late, as businesses need to know what to prepare for with as much time as is practicable.”

The last round of talks ended in mutual recrimination, with the EU and the UK deeply divided over fishing. Britain’s chief negotiator ruled out giving European boats access to UK waters in return for better conditions for British financial services in the EU’s Single Market.

The Political Declaration, a joint document for the trade talks, said a deal on fishing and financial services should be completed by July, ahead of the end of year deadline for a trade deal to be finalised.

The formal deadline for any extension to the transition period is next month, with Downing Street repeatedly saying it will not extend the transition period.

In an interview with a Sunday newspaper Mr Barnier said there would not be an "agreement at any cost" adding: "The UK negotiators need to be fully in line with what the Prime Minister signed-up to with us.”

Mark Francois, chair of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, said: “Despite this latest cri de coeur from Michel Barnier, this follows a familiar pattern when they talk tough only to climb down afterwards.

“Remember, this is the man who swore blind they would never reopen the withdrawal agreement, and certainly never abandon the backstop, and then proceeded to do both, all in the space of three months.”

A source close to the negotiations said: “The Political Declaration clearly sets out that a separate agreement on fish should be in force in July, in advance of the other agreements, but the EU continue to push for one single overarching agreement and to hold up the deadline.

“They clearly need to reconsider their position to avoid backsliding on the agreement made last autumn, and stop making demands incompatible with our future status as an independent coastal state.”

On Sunday night Peter Bone, a member of the Parliamentary committee on the UK’s future relationship with the EU, called on the Government to set a deadline of October 31 for deciding whether an agreement was feasible, to begin no-deal preparations before the deadline on December 31.

He said a deadline would force Downing Street to acknowledge there was no chance of an extension by the end of October and secure a deal or no deal exit for the end of the year.

It would also allow businesses to prepare for a WTO-rules relationship with the EU.

Meanwhile peers have warned that uncertainty over the end of the Brexit transition period poses a "potent threat" to prosperity and stability in Northern Ireland.

A new report by the House of Lords European Union committee said: "There is a real danger that businesses based in Great Britain could conclude that it is economically unviable to continue to operate in Northern Ireland, leading in turn to reduced choice and higher costs for Northern Ireland consumers, thus undermining Northern Ireland's economic model, its future prosperity and, potentially, its political stability."

The peers added: "The combination of uncertainty, lack of momentum and lack of time, compounded by the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, is a potent threat to economic prosperity and political stability in Northern Ireland."