The UK and the EU are on the verge of unveiling a historic post-Brexit trade accord after negotiators worked through the night putting the finishing touches to a compromise on fishing rights.
The agreement, which would formally complete the UK’s separation from the bloc four-and-a-half years after the 2016 referendum, would allow for tariff, and quota-free trade in goods and cooperation in areas from security to aviation.
The outline of the deal was agreed on Wednesday, and an announcement was expected yesterday.
Photo: AP
At 7:30am in Brussels, chief negotiators were still working to nail down the exact wording of the final treaty in the European Commission’s headquarters. People familiar with the situation said they did not expect those discussions to derail the accord.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was planning a press conference after he has touched base with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The UK Cabinet held a conference call on the state of the negotiations late on Wednesday ,while European governments were briefed by officials from Brussels.
The final document would still need to be approved by Johnson and EU governments, as well as parliaments on both sides.
Johnson and Von der Leyen intervened personally in recent days, holding several phone conversations, in a last-ditch bid to reach an agreement before the UK leaves the single market at the end of the month.
One EU diplomat said the UK had made concessions on fisheries in recent hours that had unlocked the deal.
Johnson has accepted that the bloc’s share of the catch in UK waters should fall by 25 percent over a period of five-and-a-half years, two people familiar with the matter said.
The UK had initially sought an 80 percent reduction over just three years, but in recent days had offered a cut of 30 percent.
The bloc had refused to accept a reduction of more than 25 percent in the value of fish caught, saying even that was hard for countries like France and Denmark to accept, officials with knowledge of the discussions said.
This would be phased in over five and a half years.
The UK previously offered three years, while the EU was pushing for 10.
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