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The UK and European Union have clashed over fishing rights ahead of trade talks starting on Monday.<\/p>\nThe UK and European Union have clashed over fishing rights ahead of trade talks starting on Monday.<\/p>\n
Brussels demanded the UK continues to allow EU fishing fleets access to British waters in order to strike a post-Brexit free trade agreement.<\/p>\n
But Downing Street said the UK had twice voted to \u201ctake back control\u201d of British waters, in the 2016 referendum and 2019\u2019s general election, and was not about to give that up.<\/p>\n
European ministers agreed to red lines for the negotiations in a meeting today, but the mandate has set the EU on a collision course with the UK Government.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s chief negotiator Michel Barnier told a press conference after the talks that fishing rights must be included in the deal or there \u201cwon\u2019t be any agreement at all\u201d.<\/p>\n
He insisted there must be \u201crobust, level playing field safeguards\u201d to avoid \u201cunfair competitive advantages\u201d in social, environmental, tax and state aid matters.<\/p>\n
The mandate says the EU will seek to \u201cuphold the existing reciprocal access to waters\u201d and quota shares for fish.<\/p>\n
Setting out the EU\u2019s position on linking fish, trade and the UK respecting Brussels\u2019 rules, Mr Barnier said: \u201cThe trade agreement will be associated with a fisheries agreement and an agreement about a level playing field or there won\u2019t be any agreement at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the British Prime Minister\u2019s official spokesman said: \u201cThe UK did not vote twice to take back control of its fishing waters only to give that control up again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a matter of fact, it doesn\u2019t matter what the EU puts in its mandate as we become an independent coastal state on December 31 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesman added: \u201cThis does not have to be negotiated, nor will it be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny access by non-UK vessels to fish in UK waters will be for us to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier said the UK would be the EU\u2019s third largest trading partner, but its proximity meant the rules \u201ccannot be the same\u201d as the deal with Canada \u2013 the model for a free trade agreement (FTA) sought by Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n
He warned that if there was to be any chance of a deal by the end of the year, there could be no \u201cbacktracking\u201d by the UK on commitments made in the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want to build up a future relationship in the long term based on trust with the UK, we need to make sure that we have trust in the short term,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It follows reports that the UK’s Prime Minister has ordered his Brexit team to find ways to \u201cget around\u201d the Northern Ireland protocol which aims to avoid the introduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
T\u00e1naiste Simon Coveney warned that there would be a \u201csignificant impact\u201d on the trade negotiations if the UK does not implement the requirements of the protocol.<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier acknowledged the negotiations would be \u201ccomplex, demanding and difficult\u201d but \u2013 in an apparent reference to Mr Johnson\u2019s Get Brexit Done election slogan \u2013 urged both sides to \u201cget this negotiation done and off to a good start\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the PM pushed back at the EU during a bilateral meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at Number 10 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson said the UK would \u201cnot accept any demands to follow EU law\u201d in the forthcoming trade talks.<\/p>\n
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: \u201cThe Prime Minister was clear that the UK would not accept any demands to follow EU law, just as we would not expect the EU to accept UK laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stressed that the UK was committed to upholding our very high standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downing Street also said the Government wanted the same treatment as other major economies who had signed trade deals with the EU.<\/p>\n
A tweet from the Number 10 press office also read: \u201cThe EU has respected the autonomy of other major economies around the world such as Canada and Japan when signing trade deals with them. We just want the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe agree the UK\u2019s trade with the EU is significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US\u2019s is on the same scale \u2013 yet that did not stop the EU being willing to offer the US zero tariffs without the kind of level playing field commitments or the legal oversight they have put in today\u2019s mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downing Street also claimed the EU\u2019s mandate \u201cmoves away from what was set out in the Political Declaration\u201d by failing to include a June 2020 target for concluding assessments on financial services regulations \u2013 something vital for the City.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s terms also include a controversial clause saying Britain should \u201creturn unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin\u201d, an apparent reference to the Elgin Marbles.<\/p>\n
The UK will set out is negotiating position on Thursday, with the PM\u2019s Europe adviser David Frost heading to Brussels for the first round of talks on Monday.<\/p>\n
A second series of negotiations is expected in London in the week beginning March 16.<\/p>\n
The tight time schedule for the talks remains an issue, with European ministers voicing concerns over the Prime Minister\u2019s unwillingness to extend the deadline beyond December.<\/p>\n
Mr Barnier said the bloc would not agree a deal \u201cat any price\u201d and warned that the deadline set by the UK could limit the scope of the agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a very brief period, you can\u2019t do everything, we will do as much as we can under pressure of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n