Leaders and negotiators from the European Union and the United Kingdom intensified their struggle Tuesday to get a trade deal past the New Year’s Day finish line as EU nations looked at legal options to do it without formal European Parliament backing.
Nine months of talks have dwindled to just a few days to find a compromise on how to continue trading with as few obstructions and tariffs as possible after Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 and a transition period runs out at the end of the year.
“We are really in a crucial moment and we are giving it a final push,” said EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier before he briefed EU member states on the state of negotiations.
“In 10 days, the UK will leave the single market,” Barnier said, highlighting the need for speed to get a deal.
Over the past few days, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have been drawn more and more into the talks and have been in contact by phone seeking to unblock negotiationa on the last major outstanding difference — EU fishing rights in U.K. waters.
Up to Jan. 1, the rights were shared among all EU nations, but with the Brexit departure, the UK regains control over some of its abundant waters. Now both sides are haggling, seeking to hog as much of those fishing quotas as they can. If Britain insists on keeping too much for itself, it could see itself punished with tough seafood export tariffs and other measures.