Brexit deal close but fishing looms as a snag

Britain and the EU are close to agreeing a Brexit deal but a battle over fishing access could derail the agreement in the coming days.

British PM Boris Johnson in a socially distanced parliamentary session. Parliament goes into recess but can be recalled for a Brexit vote. Picture: AFP

Britain and the EU are close to agreeing a Brexit deal but a battle over fishing access could derail the agreement in the coming days, the president of the European Commission has warned.

Ursula von der Leyen said the “next days” would be decisive and said there had been progress in all areas, leaving fishing as the last threat to a deal.

“The good news is that we have found a way forward on most issues. This is now a case of being so close and yet being so far away from each other,” she said. “We do not question UK sovereignty on its own waters. But we ask for predictability and stability for our fishermen.

“And in all honesty it sometimes feels that we will not be able resolve this question. But we continue to try finding a solution.”

Mrs Von der Leyen’s comments came as Downing Street announced that parliament would go into recess this week but could be recalled if a deal was done.

This could be as early as next week, a spokesman said, if British and European negotiators managed to bridge their gaps by the weekend.

Alternatively, if talks run into next week, MPs could be called back into Westminster between Christmas and the new year to ratify a deal at the same time as the European parliament.

At a Downing Street press conference Boris Johnson was asked if he still believed no deal was the most likely outcome.

In a shift in language the Prime Minister said he believed there was now a “good deal there to be done”.

“On where we get to with the EU, well, again, that is very much a matter for our friends, they know what the parameters are and we’ve just got to make sure that we control our laws and control our own waters,” he said. “There’s a good deal there to be done, but if not, WTO, Australia terms it is, and as I say we will prosper mightily on those terms as well.”

A Downing Street spokesman added: “Time is now in short supply to reach an agreement with the EU and we expect discussions will continue over the coming days.”

The spokesman said that if a deal was done No 10 did not expect any problem getting the necessary legislation through the House of Commons in time.

“Parliament has long shown it can move at pace and the country would expect nothing less,” he said.

In Berlin, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said negotiations were expected to continue “until the weekend to see — or rather until the end of this week”.

“There has been progress but no breakthrough,” she told German MPs. “A deal would be better than no deal, but we are also prepared for the latter.”

Mrs Von der Leyen said that talks on “level playing field” fair competition rules had taken a “big step forward”, with a focus now on aligning common standards as they change over time.

The Times