By Chathushka Perera
London, UK (CWBN)_ As the Covid-19 outbreak warps around the Brexit negotiations, negotiators continue talks with little to show in return. Both sides of the table continue to accuse each other of being unwilling to compromise, and maintain that key issues remain unresolved.
Sunday (20th Dec) was effectively the deadline that was imposed by the European Parliament for a draft of the trade deal was to be delivered to the body for ratification, however, the UK government claimed that the EU would be required to make a substantial shift in negotiations in order to move forward.
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, David McAllister, said that an agreement cannot be expected to be signed this year, as negotiations have passed the deadline.
Currently, negotiations have reached an impasse over three issues pertaining to fishing access to British waters, maintenance of a fair and competitive market, and the regulation of the deal itself, even though critiques have argued that fishing is not as great an issue as the UK makes it out to be.
Chief negotiator for the EU, Michel Barnier, claimed that talks have reached a “crucial moment”, however, a deal would be required to be “balanced and reciprocal”.
Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday (20th Dec) that PM Boris Johnson will be chairing an emergency committee meeting after several EU states closed their borders to the UK following the discovery of a new strain of the Covid-19 virus. This includes the French border, which has been shut down for 48 hour period with the relative possibility of an extension.
