British and French flags at the European Parliament.
Photographer: Jasper Juinen / Bloomberg
Photographer: Jasper Juinen / Bloomberg
France will not attempt to secure a Brexit deal at any cost by Sunday as the parties negotiate the largest deal in the history of the European Union and such agreements are known to take many years of discussion, the French said. Minister of European Affairs Clement Beaune in Saturday an interview on the radio of France Inter.
“It would be normal not to say, It’s Sunday night, so let’s pack it up and sacrifice everything,” Beaune said. “It may be difficult and sometimes difficult to understand, but it is necessary to take the time and at least not sacrifice our interests under the pressure of a calendar.”
The Brexit trade talks could take place in a decisive weekend and neither side is confident in a deal after a hectic 24 hours that has shown just how far apart the UK and the European Union are still. Fishing and competition conditions remain issues, and negotiating under pressure from a deadline is not appropriate, Beaune said.
According to officials close to the negotiations, the UK rejected an EU bid on Thursday that the bloc would lose about 22% of the current 650 million euros ($ 797 million) of fish caught annually in UK waters. After consultations with the capitals on Friday, the EU offered 25% and this was again rejected. The UK is pushing for the cut to get closer to 60%, according to the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
France does not expect chaos in a no-deal scenario as it has prepared, Beaune said. French President Emmanuel Macron, who came this week with the coronavirus, is tired but good and is following the talks closely, he said.
France is also concerned about the conditions of competition, saying it will not accept UK companies’ access to the EU market unless the rules are followed. The UK must also accept that participation in EU programs will cost more and not less as a non-EU member, he said.
(Corrects the day of the week in the first paragraph.)