Another round of trade discussions between the European Union and the UK ended Friday — and once again there were no signs of real progress ahead of a looming deadline on whether a transition arrangement can be extended.
Following four days of video discussions because of the coronavirus pandemic, the two sides remained at loggerheads on a number of issues, including on regulations for businesses. Their positions on fisheries also remain distant, with the UK adamantly opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters.
“The truth is there was no significant progress this week,” the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said during a press conference.
The UK left the political institutions of the EU on January 31 but remains inside the EU’s tariff-free economic zone until the end of the year. That so-called transition period can be extended by two years but a request to do so has to be made by July 1. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he won’t ask for an extension.