The European Union sees a path towards a compromise on a trade deal with Britain, an adviser to the EU’s chief trade negotiator said on Thursday. However, London must first be more realistic in what it expects to achieve, according to Stefaan de Rynck.
He told a virtual Irish conference that Britain had shown a lack of serious engagement on a number of issues, and the talks needed to be unblocked. The areas where Brussels was seeing this obstruction were in regard to standards for open and fair competition, fisheries, an overarching governance structure, and on judicial and law enforcement cooperation, Reuters reports.
“This may be a tough message, but at the same time, we can see the trajectory of compromise,” the adviser said. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday that Britain was seeking a trading relationship with the EU that was too close to that of a member state.
Talks between the UK and the EU involving PM Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen may take place on June 15, Financial Times reporter Jim Brunsden tweeted on Thursday, citing sources.