European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a statement on Saturday after a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which she said 鈥渘o agreement is feasible鈥� if the 鈥渟ignificant differences鈥� on critical issues are not resolved.
Von der Leyen鈥檚 office issued a statement after her phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
鈥淚n a phone call today on the on-going negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, we welcomed the fact that progress has been achieved in many areas.鈥�
鈥淣evertheless, significant differences remain on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries. Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved.
鈥淲hilst recognising the seriousness of these differences, we agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by our negotiating teams to assess whether they can be resolved.鈥�
鈥淲e are therefore instructing our chief negotiators to reconvene tomorrow in Brussels.鈥�
鈥淲e will speak again on Monday evening,鈥� the statement read.鈥�
The issues on which there are divergences have not changed since the beginning of negotiations.鈥�
The UK is insistent on taking back control of its fishing waters, a topic that is politically charged but economically relatively insignificant to the UK. France, a heavyweight inside the EU, has been particularly insistent for the EU not to give ground on this front.鈥�
The EU fears the UK is creating a low-regulation economy that props up its companies with state subsidies, thus undercutting the EU.
There is now less than a month before Britain鈥檚 transition period out of the EU ends on Dec. 31.鈥�
If the two sides cannot reach a trade agreement, then they will trade on World Trade Organization terms 鈥� also known as a 鈥渘o-deal Brexit鈥� 鈥� which involves tariffs and quotas on goods and services flowing between the two countries.
If a deal is reached, it must still be ratified by the 27 members of the EU, meaning time is now running extremely short.
By Karim El-Bar鈥� in London
Anadolu Agency
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