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French European Affairs Minister Clément Boone said Sunday’s deadline for the European Parliament could pass without an agreement on a trade and security agreement after Brexit, as British and European Union negotiators continued to bargain over fishing rights.
MEPs said they would hold an approval vote on December 28 if terms are agreed by both sides by midnight CET on Sunday, raising the risk of a deal being reached at the end of the week.
But Pune, who is speaking on behalf of the French president on Brexit, said that the French government will not rush to reach an agreement within the next 48 hours, and said: It is necessary to take the time and not sacrifice our interests under the pressure of the calendar.
An interim agreement could still be implemented on January 1 if an agreement is reached, with Parliament taking a vote later in the month, but it is understood that the European Commission is unable to take such a step.
This process may also take up to a week, given the need for translation and scrutiny of the treaty in European Union capitals.
As a result, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told members of the European Parliament on Thursday that a short period without any trade and security arrangements might be needed if the talks continue until Christmas, and with none of the alternatives looking palatable, the EU side is keen to try. The deal ends this weekend, but the two sides continue to struggle to find a compromise over the European fishing fleet’s access to British seas.
The annual yield of fish for British ships in British waters is around 850 million euros compared to 650 million euros by the member states of the European Union, and the recent offer of the European Union to the Prime Minister to deliver more than 25% of his catch by value – 162.5 million euros per General – to British ships.
The UK insists the EU needs to get close to its request to repatriate 60% of the current catch, at a value of around 390 million euros per year.
The UK also wants to limit the period for the gradual implementation of the new arrangements to three years instead of the seven years that Brussels recently proposed.
About 75% of UK fish exports, including more valuable species such as herring, cod, oysters, mackerel and salmon, go to the EU market.
Johnson wants to keep the six to 12 nautical mile zone off the British coast, which has been fished for centuries by French and Belgian ships, exclusively for boats flying the UK flag.
Barnier has complained that the UK believes it owes it par excellence about access to hunting after it accepted the need for a “evolution clause” on EU and UK standards in the treaty. He said, “This is not the way it works.”
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