Exhausted barnier admits deal no closer after 7days of intense talks

The Brussels diplomat insisted in-person negotiations would continue while both sides respected Belgium’s coronavirus health guidelines. Lord Frost, the Prime Minister’s Brexit envoy, is in

Brussels for further talks as part of the recently intensified negotiations in a bid to clinch a free-trade agreement in the coming days. After the pair met in the Commission’s Berlaymont

headquarters, Mr Barnier said: “After seven days of intensive negotiations in London, talks continue with David Frost and his team in Brussels in full respect of the national measures for

COVID-19. “Working hard for an agreement. Much remains to be done.” The UK and EU have been working around the clock since Boris Johnson last week allowed negotiations to resume when Mr

Barnier finally agreed to put pen to paper on the Brexit deal after months of stalling. Both sides are set to work through the weekend in the hope of making a breakthrough as early as next

week.  _ _ The UK and EU have struggled to make progress on the key sticking points of access to Britain’s coastal waters and future common standards, including state subsidies for

businesses.  Yesterday Commission chief Ursula von Der Leyen described the two issues as two “critical issues” to overcome in order to clinch a deal.  She said: “We’re making good progress

but there are two critical issues: level playing field and the fisheries, where we would like to see more progress. “We are in very close contact on an hourly basis because the negotiations

now have been intensified … There are 11 other fields of files that have to be negotiated.” Both sides were said to still be “far apart” in the row over future access to Britain’s coastal

waters earlier this week. European Council President Charles Michel said the talks would be assessed next week. He hinted a deal could emerge by mid-November to allow the EU to start its

ratification process. MUST READ: EU SUES UK - OUTRAGEOUS LETTER DEMANDS UK PLAYS BY EU RULES But a panicked Germany claimed the bloc would have to remain in a friendly partnership to protect

its firms funding from the City of London. Deputy finance minister Joerg Kukies said: “German corporates, for all that I can tell, rely massively on wholesale financing offered from the

City of London, so in that sense we will have to maintain pragmatism, no matter what happens. “But at the moment we are deeply conceived by the lack of progress in negotiations.”