Brexit hanging game on the subject of fisheries: pact at the last second? - "Brutally complicated"

Great Britain and the EU are fighting for a trade deal - the fisheries question remains difficult.

But now there is a sensational request to speak.

• The chances are diminishing that a trade agreement between the

  EU and Great Britain will be

  reached

  in December

  .

• But: British Prime Minister

  Boris Johnson

  is not that critical of

  a

  no-deal Brexit

  .

• It is becoming apparent, however, that

  a compromise could still be reached on

  the

  crux of fishing

  .

Update from December 22nd, 10.16 a.m.:

Shortly before Christmas, the British have

to suffer from

a

corona mutation

in the pandemic

- are they at least

spared the

threatening chaos in trade

?

There is bitter dispute over how EU fishermen will

be allowed to

fish in

British waters

in the future

.

However, speculation about an

imminent breakthrough is

growing.

A former member of the British negotiating team outlined a possible compromise on the

Politico

news portal

.

Raoul Ruparel

, once advisor to Prime Minister

Theresa May

, writes in the guest

article

that EU fishing rights

are to be reduced

by

35 percent

over five years,

and the British should continue

to be able to offer

their fish

duty-free

.

In addition, Brussels should be allowed to introduce tariffs - if the British continue to restrict EU access.

The tariffs are to be determined

independently

.

The

Financial Times

, according to confirmed EU circles that a similar offer from

London

had given.

However: According to the newspaper, the British side said the positions were still

"far apart"

and the talks were

"brutally complicated"

.

After

Brexit

in January,

Great Britain is also leaving

the

internal market

and the

customs union

at the turn of the year

.

The envisaged contract is intended to avert tariffs and trade barriers.

The negotiations are due to continue this Tuesday.

Leading EU parliamentarians

have appealed to Great Britain

to agree to

an

extended Brexit transition period in

view of the coronavirus mutation

. 

+

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Brexit PC on December 21st - negotiations continue.

© Tolga Akmen / various sources / AFP

Brexit hanging game threatens to end with a bang: the deal is likely to fail - fishing crux?

Update from December 19, 8:41 p.m.:

In their negotiations on a

Brexit trade pact

, Great Britain and the EU are still clearly apart.

“The most likely result” is currently a no deal, it was said on Saturday from negotiating circles.

"We will turn every stone to bring about a deal." But there are still "significant open questions" about fishing and subsidies.

"The negotiations continue, but we are still far apart."

Brexit deal or no deal?

EU comes to London on fishing - the association reacts indignantly

Especially

fishing is a sticking point

.

Observers of the

tough negotiations

reported on Twitter on Saturday that the EU could take a step on London on the contentious issue.

According to this, EU negotiator Michel Barnier is said to have offered that the Community

would repay

the British

25 percent of the value of the fish

that EU fishermen catch in British waters.

That would be significantly more than has been discussed so far - but not nearly as much as London is demanding.

A European fishermen's association then warned that the EU should not deceive the industry.

+

Dover: Shortly before Britain's final exit from the EU, the pressure can be felt on the important trade route across the English Channel.

The ports in Great Britain are congested.

© Gareth Fuller / PA Wire / dpa

"In the interests of all fishermen, we want to avoid a no deal," said the head of the European Fisheries Alliance (EFA), Gerard van Balsfoot.

"But the deal that is now being proposed is just as bad." That is the timetable for the British exit *.

Brexit: British MPs are allowed to go on Christmas vacation despite the Brexit hang-up

Update from December 16, 7.12 p.m.:

Despite the Brexit tremor, the British MPs can start their Christmas vacation on Friday.

If, however, a

trade pact

with the EU should come about

in the next few days

, the parliamentarians would be

called back

to the

emergency meeting as

soon as possible

, it was said from Downing Street, the British

seat of

government.

That could even be early next week.

"Parliament has long shown that it can move quickly and the country would not expect anything else," it said.

Actually, trips to and from regions with the highest corona warning level, which also applies to London, should be avoided.

However, many members of parliament have only been connected to parliament virtually from their constituencies for months.

The talks with the EU should continue under massive time pressure in the next few days.

An agreement would have to be ratified in good time.

Update from December 13, 6:16 p.m.:

Furthermore,

everything seems open

in the dispute over a

Brexit trade pact

- it is not even clear whether

a

decision will

actually be

made on a deal or a no-deal

this

Sunday

.

Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel

(CDU) has meanwhile reacted dryly to allegations from the island at her Corona press conference.

When they were

told

that the

British press

saw themselves as one of the main culprits for the stalled negotiations, Merkel told journalists: “Aha, that's good to know.

I haven't negotiated at all, and I'm not negotiating at all. ”“ Germany is not negotiating this as an individual participant at all, ”emphasized the Chancellor, saying that these are

negotiations within the European Union

.

“Aha, that's good to know.

I do not negotiate at all. ”# Merkel when asked what she said about“ the British press ”describing her as the main culprit for the lack of progress in EU-UK negotiations.

#Brexit #blamegame 🇪🇺🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/cvbLvA6VnL

- Andreas Rinke (@Andreas__Rinke) December 13, 2020

Merkel also emphasized on Sunday that “everything” had to be tried “in order to achieve a result”.

The chairman of the trade committee in the European Parliament,

Bernd Lange

(SPD), described the

further postponement

as an "unworthy game".

A “serious ratification” is becoming “more and more impossible”.

And citizens and companies would have to continue to live with the uncertainty about the outcome of the talks.

No-deal Brexit is getting closer: surprising turnaround shortly before the deadline

Update from December 13, 12:51 p.m .:

Surprise!

According to information from EU circles, the European Union expects talks with Great Britain on a Brexit trade pact to continue.

The dpa learned this on Sunday after a conversation between

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen

and

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

.

Brexit showdown on Sunday: Johnson publishes contingency plan for no-deal scenario

Update from December 13, 11:15 a.m.:

Shortly before the end of what is expected to be the last

first

in the struggle for a

trade agreement

, the British government under Prime Minister

Boris Johnson has published

an emergency plan in the event of a no-deal scenario.

As a government spokesman announced, "every single foreseeable scenario has been played through".

On

Sunday

, both sides want to

come

to a

decision

as to whether the negotiations will achieve a breakthrough or whether they will be declared a failure.

Update from December 12th, 8:03 pm:

Boris Johnson

last described

the

“no-deal Brexit

”

as “very, very likely”

.

According to information from the

dpa

, there is now an

end to the struggle

for compromises after the

final exit

from the

EU

.

Before the

self-imposed deadline expires

, the UK's Prime Minister wants to

call

EU Council President Von der Leyen again

.

A decision is actually expected on Sunday.

Talks about the trade agreement have been ongoing

since February 1, 2020

.

No-deal Brexit is getting closer: Johnson is planning tough steps - he wants to use British navy against EU fishermen

+

Ursula von der Leyen (r.), President of the EU Commission, and Boris Johnson (l.), Prime Minister of Great Britain

© Aaron Chown / PA Wire / dpa

First report from December 12th, 1:09 p.m .:

London / Brussels - January 1, 2021 is approaching, the

Brexit negotiations

seem more hopeless: Most recently, EU Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen

said she had “low expectations” that a 

trade agreement 

would be concluded and come into force on time.

By this Sunday at the latest, both sides want a decision on what will happen now.

According to

Federal Foreign Minister

Heiko Maas

(SPD *), an agreement "is getting more difficult every day, but it is still possible," as the SPD politician

told

the newspapers of the

Funke media group

.

He added: “That is why we as the EU will continue to negotiate as long as the window is open even a crack.

We'll see what works by Sunday and then evaluate the situation again. "

Theoretically, time would be until shortly before the turn of the year.

Only then will the transition phase come to an end, during which

everything will remain

the same despite

the British

leaving

the

EU

.

The British media are therefore speculating whether a return to the

negotiating table

would not be possible

even if they admitted the failure on Sunday

.

Johnson on Brexit: Brits could do what they want from January 1st

The

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

prepared his countrymen ever before to a No Deal.

It was "very, very likely" that the negotiations would fail, he said.

But that too is a solution that is "wonderful for

Great Britain

".

After all, you can do exactly what you want from January 1st, the prime minister said on Friday.

One of the main points of contention is access to fishing grounds within Britain's claimed 200-mile zone around its coasts.

The point is that the British want to decide for themselves who is allowed to catch how much in their waters.

But the exclusive

economic zone

that the country now claims is not in line with the historically evolved division of fishing grounds, as defined in the framework of the

European fisheries

policy.

Economically, the topic hardly plays a role, but symbolically it is hardly to be underestimated for the former sea power Great Britain.

Here, too, neither side wants to give in.

London even announced on Saturday that it would, if necessary, use

Royal Navy

ships

to protect

its waters

from EU fishing tractors.

Brexit: Fisheries policy and competitive conditions are two of the more contentious issues

The issue of

competitive conditions

is also unresolved

.

Brussels takes the position that competition from Great Britain can only

hope

for

duty-free trade

if both sides of the English Channel apply the same labor, social and environmental standards.

But for London that is a matter of principle.

Again and again British officials stress that it is a question of the

sovereignty of their country

.

With Brexit * you want to regain control over your own laws, borders, waters and your own money - and not adopt the EU standards, which you then no longer have any influence on.

For Johnson it is absurd that, according to his presentation, the EU demands that Great Britain should follow EU rule changes at every turn.

+

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at a press conference

© Johanna Geron / Pool Reuters / AP / dpa

Brexit: stalemate between the EU and Great Britain - what are the two sides hoping for?

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen countered on Friday in Brussels: The British are free to deviate from European rules in the future, for example with

regard to environmental standards

.

But the conditions for access to the

European internal market

would then also have to be adapted, in

other

words: tariffs would be introduced.

Commentators in the UK disagree on what's behind the stalemate.

Both sides could rely on the other to give in - and risk a serious miscalculation.

Or maybe Johnson gives in at the last moment in exchange for symbolic concessions and everything is just a carefully planned choreography

that is supposed to portray

him

as a fighter

in the eyes of the

Brexit hardliners

?

It would not be the first time.

But nobody can be sure.

(dpa / cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Tolga Akmen / various sources / AFP