Britain is digging as the deadline approaches post-Brexit trade negotiations

By Kate Abnett and Elizabeth Piper

BRUSSELS / LONDON (Reuters) – Britain reiterated on Saturday that it would rather leave the European Union without a trade agreement than compromise its independence, while Brussels did not know whether progress had been made after a crucial day of talks.

Less than two weeks before the UK leaves the EU’s orbit, both sides are calling on the other to make a breakthrough and protect trade worth nearly $ 1 trillion in tariffs and quotas.

“We need to get any understanding right and based on terms that respect what the British voted for,” a British government source said.

“Unfortunately, the EU is still striving to get the necessary flexibility from the Member States and continues to make demands that are incompatible with our independence.”

Since the UK left the EU in January, talks have largely been stalled on two issues – the bloc’s fishing rights in British waters and the creation of so-called fair conditions to ensure fair competition rules for both parties.

There is little time left. Both parties must obtain the approval of any agreement by their parliaments and, with the discussions in their final stages, it is expected that any conclusion will most likely come before Christmas.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that there were “only a few hours” left to reach a post-Brexit trade deal. He cited “extremely difficult” negotiations on how the EU could retaliate if Britain pedaled back to production standards to gain a competitive advantage for its products or if Britain would eliminate European fishermen from its waters. fishing in the future.

The European Parliament reiterated its request on Saturday to reach an agreement no later than this weekend, in order to give it time to ratify the agreement properly.

David McAllister, head of the parliamentary group for Brexit, said the chamber could hold an emergency plenary on December 29 if an agreement was reached no later than this weekend.

“This requires that we receive a text at the latest on Sunday evening, in order to start the prepared measures and work,” he told the German broadcaster NDR.

The EU has long said it wants to protect parliament’s right to exercise democratic oversight by voting on any agreement reached by EU and UK negotiators.

However, if an agreement is reached later this weekend, the 27 EU Member States could still support it on their own to allow for “provisional application”, a scenario that could upset MEPs.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr in Berlin; Editing by Catherine Evans and Christina Fincher)

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