U.K. and EU Blame Each Other as Trade Talks Make Little Progress

U.K. and European Union officials blamed each other for failing to compromise as they made little apparent progress toward a trade accord ahead of a key deadline this week.

Speaking to a meeting of EU European affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday, the bloc‘s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the talks haven’t sufficiently advanced for them to enter the so-called tunnel, the intensive final phase, according to officials close to the discussion.

The U.K. responded by saying the EU had run the clock down deliberately and now needed to up the pace and inject some creativity to save the deal.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to walk away from the negotiations on Thursday unless he is clear a deal is possible. As discussions between U.K. and EU officials continue in Brussels, both sides agree that time is running out -- but they differ on who needs to make the first concessions on fisheries, state aid, and how any agreement will be enforced, the three major obstacles to an accord.

“We are at a critical stage of the negotiations,” German Europe Minister Michael Roth told reporters before the meeting in Luxembourg. “We are extremely under pressure, time is running out, and we expect substantial progress by our friends in the U.K. in key areas.”

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While tone of each sides briefing is heating up, EU officials privately expect the U.K. to remain at the negotiating table until at least the end of this month to try and secure a deal. Failure to reach one would see the U.K. leave the single market and customs union at the year-end without a trade deal in place, triggering disruption and additional costs for millions of businesses and consumers already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

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In a message on Twitter, Barnier said the EU will “continue to work for a fair deal in the coming days and weeks.”

At #GAC today with @MarosSefcovic to brief EU Ministers on state of play of negotiations and the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Strong EU unity confirmed ahead of European Council.

The EU will continue to work for a fair deal in the coming days and weeks. pic.twitter.com/68TNDwSVDt

— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 13, 2020

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A U.K. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are private, expressed frustration at the EUs position, saying the U.K. has moved a long way since the beginning of the year.

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Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the U.K. Parliament he is “hopeful” the two sides can can reach an agreement by Thursday.

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“Ultimately it will require the same goodwill, the same pragmatism, the same flexibility on the EU side that the U.K. and this prime minister has shown,” Raab said.

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— With assistance by Nikos Chrysoloras