December 18, 2020 — A new temporary helpline to help support U.K. seafood businesses with last-minute Brexit issues has been launched by public body Seafish.
Operating from 21 December, 2020, through 4 January, 2021, the service will give seafood businesses experiencing specific matters around the end of the transition period continued access to direct support from the authority’s regulation experts.
December 17, 2020 — Britain and the European Union have moved closer to sealing a new trade deal but it was still unclear if they would succeed, the bloc’s chief executive said on Wednesday.
Britain and the EU are in the final stretch of talks to keep an estimated one trillion dollars of annual trade free of tariffs and quotas beyond Dec. 31, when the United Kingdom finally transitions out of the world’s largest trading bloc.
With just over two weeks left, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped the EU would “see sense” and agree a deal that respected Britain’s sovereignty, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc favoured agreement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament: “I cannot tell you whether there will be a deal or not. But I can tell you that there is a path to an agreement now. The path may be very narrow but it is there.”
Her relatively upbeat comments on the long-running Brexit crisis helped nudge sterling upwards on currency markets. However, von der Leyen also said two issues were still unsolved.
December 17, 2020 — Agreements on next year’s catch limits for more than 200 commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean, and the Black Sea have been reached by European Union fisheries ministers following two days of intense negotiation at the annual Agrifish Council meeting.
As more than 100 of the stocks in the Atlantic and North Sea have historically been co-managed with the United Kingdom, and given the ongoing E.U.-U.K. negotiations on their future relationship, ministers agreed to set provisional quotas for the fish stocks shared with Britain.
December 14, 2020 — European Union and United Kingdom negotiators will this week push harder to establish an agreement on post-Brexit trade after both sides agreed “to go the extra mile.”
A deadline to finish talks had been set for Sunday, 13 December, but U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to an extension after discussing the major unresolved topics in a phone call.
December 9, 2020 — With time running out to reach a deal before 31 December, when the United Kingdom stops following European trade rules as a result of its decision to leave the European Union, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to fly to Brussels for talks on a post-Brexit deal with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to a joint statement from Johnson and von der Leyen, the pair have taken stock of the ongoing negotiations, and have deemed significant differences on business competition rules, governance issues, and fisheries rights remain the primary sticking points to achieving a deal.
December 8, 2020 — Negotiations between Britain and the European Union over a post-Brexit trade deal are complex and France will oppose any pact that “sacrifices” its fishermen, French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on Tuesday.
“On fisheries there is no reason to yield to Britain’s pressure. We can make some efforts but sacrificing fisheries and fishermen, no,” Beaune told RMC radio, reiterating that France would veto any agreement it considered a “bad” deal.
Since Britain left the European Union in January, each side has urged the other to make concessions to unlock a trade deal before Britain’s transition period for leaving the bloc ends on Dec. 31.
December 4, 2020 — The temporary easing of coronavirus restrictions in the United Kingdom during the summer months provided a platform for the country’s seafood supply chains to start to get back on track, finds the latest COVID-19 impact review compiled by public body Seafish.
Focusing on the months July to September 2020 – a period that saw restrictions relaxed before being scaled up again – the new review confirms that in particular, foodservice demand increased in the United Kingdom and Europe, with consumers given the opportunity to eat meals out of their homes.
December 3, 2020 — The European Union and Britain talked into late on Thursday to try to secure a Brexit trade deal, with an EU official saying an agreement was closer than ever but a UK government source warning chances for a breakthrough were receding.
Since Britain left the EU in January, negotiators have struggled to overcome their differences, with each side urging the other to make concessions to unlock a trade deal before London’s transition period out of the bloc ends on Dec. 31.
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is due to update 27 national envoys to the bloc’s hub Brussels on Friday on the latest in the talks. A senior British government source said the prospect of a breakthrough in the next few days was receding.
A member of Barnier’s team said earlier on Thursday that significant gaps remained on the three most contentious issues and that the final outcome was still uncertain.
“The long and the short story is that talks are continuing in London. Significant divergences remain,” Stefaan de Rynck told a seminar in the Belgian capital. “Both sides are working hard to overcome them but the outcome is uncertain.”
December 1, 2020 — Boris Johnson’s officials believe a Brexit trade deal could be reached within days if both sides continue working in “good faith” to resolve what the U.K. sees as the last big obstacle in the talks — fishing rights.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called on the European Union to recognize that regaining control over British waters is a question of sovereignty for the U.K. He drew a positive picture of the state of negotiations and said he believed a deal on fish “ought” to be achievable during what could be the final week of talks.
“I think it’s important that the EU understand the point of principle,” Raab told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday show on Sky News. “If they show the pragmatism, the goodwill and the good faith that in fairness I think has surrounded the last leg of the talks, and certainly we’ve shown in our flexibility, I think there’s a deal to be done.”
If negotiations fail, millions of businesses and consumers will face higher costs, with tariffs on goods as well as disruption to critical supply chains. The Brexit transition period ends on Dec. 31, when the U.K. is scheduled to leave the EU’s single market and customs regime.
November 30, 2020 — The European Union and Britain said on Friday there were still substantial differences over a Brexit trade deal as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis.
With just five weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31, both sides are calling on the other to compromise on the three main issues of contention – fishing, state aid and how to resolve any future disputes.
The two sides will shortly resume face-to-face negotiations after they had to be suspended last week when one of EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier’s team tested positive for COVID-19.
“Clearly there are substantial and important differences still to be bridged but we’re getting on with it,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters.