EU-UK, Brexit Official Negotiations End 'Empty-Handed'... Focus on Leaders' Phone Call

All Agreed Up to the 9th Round of Talks... Some Differences Remain on State Subsidies
UK Johnson-EU von der Leyen to Hold Phone Talk Today... Agreed to Backchannel Contact Until the 15th
German Merkel Optimistic

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 2nd (local time), the UK and the European Union (EU) concluded the 9th round of future relationship negotiations, including a trade agreement, without any significant agreement, effectively entering the final stage of negotiations with differences remaining between the two sides. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are scheduled to discuss future plans on the 3rd, drawing attention to the direction of the negotiations.

According to Bloomberg and other sources, David Frost, the UK Prime Minister's Europe Adviser, and Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit (the UK's withdrawal from the EU) negotiator, concluded the 9th round of future relationship negotiations held in Brussels on the day. The 9th round was the last official negotiation schedule agreed upon by both sides.

After the meeting, Chief Negotiator Barnier stated, "The negotiations were conducted in a constructive and respectful atmosphere," and evaluated that there were positive developments in several areas such as aviation safety and security cooperation. However, he explained that progress was not made on several important issues, including commitments related to climate change. In particular, he said, "There remain persistent and serious differences on issues important to the EU," and emphasized that any agreement must include provisions on a level playing field and fisheries. He added, "To reach an agreement, these differences must be overcome within the next few weeks."

UK Chief Negotiator Frost said, "The talks were constructive and conducted in a good atmosphere," but noted that differences still remain in some areas. Regarding access rights to UK waters, he said the gap is very wide and expressed concern, stating, "There is very little time left to resolve these issues before the EU summit scheduled for the 15th."

While the negotiation representatives from both sides expressed concerns that differences still remain, on the 3rd, the two leaders, UK Prime Minister Johnson and EU Commission President von der Leyen, plan to review the progress of the negotiations and discuss future schedules via video conference. Foreign media predict that both sides will continue behind-the-scenes negotiations until the EU summit on the 15th of this month.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a press conference after the EU special summit held in Brussels on the day, said that although there is no breakthrough yet in the future relationship negotiations between the two sides, she remains optimistic as long as the negotiations continue. She added, "Most of it depends on what the UK wants and does not want."

Chancellor Merkel referred to the recently announced new fisheries agreement between the UK and Norway, saying it shows that the EU and the UK could find a consensus. The agreement between the UK and Norway includes mutual access to each other's territorial waters but involves annual negotiations on catch quotas. Since fisheries is one of the key issues in the future relationship negotiations between the EU and the UK, this indicates a possibility that both sides could narrow their positions.

However, the negotiation deadline is approaching. The EU's position is that to complete the member state ratification process by the end of the year when the transition period ends, both sides must reach an agreement by the end of this month at the latest. The UK has stated that if an agreement is difficult before the EU summit in mid-month, it must prepare to move on to the next stage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.