Michel Barnier has ruled out a British plan to enter intensive 'tunnel' negotiations over an EU trade deal in July. Brussels' chief Brexit negotiator told EU ambassadors of the move for secret talks and accused the UK of reneging on Withdrawal Agreement commitments to allow EU officials to regularly scrutinise the new customs arrangements in Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period. He warned senior diplomats on Wednesday that David Frost, the UK’s chief negotiator, was attempting to use leverage over access to UK fishing waters to exact major concessions that would transform Britain into a manufacturing rival to the EU. Boris Johnson is meant to meet the presidents of the three EU institutions for a “high-level meeting” to discuss progress in the deadlocked free trade negotiations this month. Diplomatic sources claimed the reason an exact date was still not nailed down was because the UK wanted to announce the tunnel talks after the high-level meeting and paint it as a success for the prime minister. British sources blame scheduling difficulties caused by the need to match the diaries of the presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament. “The Tunnel” is Brussels jargon for secret talks carried out under media blackout and without regular briefings of EU ambassadors. The secrecy is used to encourage negotiators to break taboos and find a breakthrough. The UK and EU entered the tunnel before compromises were found over the Irish border during negotiations over the Withdrawal Agreement. The EU’s chief negotiator told ambassadors of the 27 member states in Brussels that the two sides were too far apart on fishing rights, the level playing field and the European Court of Justice to go into the tunnel. He said the UK had to show willingness to compromise on its red lines first. “The UK wants the negotiating tunnel with constant bargaining over the summer but it is totally unclear on what as the positions are so far apart at this stage,” an EU diplomat said, before suggesting any tunnel talks would only happen in September or October. “The wish to have a tunnel when there are no grounds to build it is blocking progress on the high-level meeting,” a diplomat told the Telegraph. “The UK request is only meant to justify not asking for a extension to transition.”
source https://news.yahoo.com/michel-barnier-blocks-uk-plan-084536782.html
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