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UK and EU ‘very far apart’ on fish deal as France takes hard line

PA
PA

Britain and the EU are still “very far apart” on striking a Brexit deal on fish, a minister said today.

Fisheries minister Victoria Prentis accused Brussels of blocking progress on the issue as the two sides’ chief negotiators held fresh talks in London.

“We are seeking to negotiate a fisheries framework agreement with the EU,” she told Parliament in an update on the UK’s plans for fisheries next year.

“This is proving a difficult negotiation and the UK and EU positions are very far apart, principally because the EU has not yet accepted the implications of our future status as an independent coastal state.” She said new “fisheries frameworks” had been agreed with Norway and the Faroe Islands.

France has taken a particularly hard line on fish in the Brexit negotiations, with President Emmanuel Macron even signalling he is prepared to see a no deal rather than making major concessions.However, fishing is a relatively small part of Britain’s economy and those of other states and it is not expected that the issue would scupper an agreement.

Arriving in London last night for talks, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: “I think we have a huge common responsibility. Every day counts.”

The main stumbling blocks remain fishing rights, the governance of any deal and the “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competitions. The end of the transition period is on December 31 and both sides had said a deal would need to be reached by mid-October in order to allow time for ratification.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss today signed the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Tokyo. At a ceremony, Ms Truss said: “How fitting it is to be in the Land of the Rising Sun to welcome in the dawn of a new era of free trade.”

Labour has argued that the net benefit of the deal would be 0.07 per cent of GDP.

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