EU-UK trade talks floundering over fish as cutoff day nears

BRUSSELS -- With yet another Brexit deadline disappearing in the rearview mirror, a breakthrough on fishing rights remained elusive for the European Union and Britain on Sunday -- leaving both without a trade agreement that would dull the cutting edge of a chaotic, costly economic break on New Year's Day.

With hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake throughout the economy, the tiny sector of fisheries continued to drive a wedge between the 27-nation bloc and the U.K., highlighting the animosity that drove them to a Brexit divorce over the past four years. Britain left the bloc in January, but a 11-month economic transition period ends Dec. 31.

"We continue to work hard," EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in a statement as light faded over EU headquarters Sunday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said the EU is "continuing to make demands that are incompatible with our independence. We cannot accept a deal that doesn't leave us in control of our own laws or waters."

Barnier didn't question that both sides "have the right to set their own laws and control their own waters." But, he countered, "we should both be able to act when our interests are at stake."

The fighting words took away all hope a deal could be found before midnight, which the European Parliament had set as a deadline if it was to have enough time to vet and approve the deal before New Year's. Officials on both sides said positions had hardly moved throughout the weekend of near-continuous talks.

A senior British government official said that both sides "have been negotiating throughout the day and expect to continue tomorrow. Talks remain difficult and significant differences remain."

The European Parliament's top Brexit legislators are set to meet today to assess their options anew after their deadline was flatly disregarded by both sides. Deadlines have been set and missed almost throughout the four-year acrimonious divorce proceedings.

The legislature's top Brexit official said parliamentary approval would not be possible during the remaining days this year, leaving it unclear how the parliament could give its consent to any deal.

"We have just learned that there will be no agreement today," German MEP David McAllister said in a statement late Sunday. "Therefore, the European Parliament will not be in a position to grant consent to an agreement this year."

The almost mythical sense of Britain's rights to rule its waves was an essential part of what drove Brexiteers to victory in the 2016 referendum. Johnson is seeking to make sure as much as possible of the shared British waters are now returned to U.K. vessels only.

The EU has always maintained those waters have been shared for decades, if not centuries, and insists if too many fishing rights are taken away, it will punish Britain by imposing hefty import fees to the mainland market, which is essential to the U.K. seafood industry.

The stalemate has left the overall talks inconclusive with businesses on both sides clamoring for a deal that would save tens of billions in costs. Johnson, though, could not be budged.

"We need to get any deal right and based on terms which respect what the British people voted for," his office said.

One official from an EU coastal nation said the EU was refusing to yield more than a quarter of the fishing quotas the bloc stands to lose now that Britain is regaining full control of its waters because of Brexit. Britain is also steadfast a three-year transition period would be long enough for EU fishermen to adapt to the new rules, while the EU wants at least six years.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were still ongoing.

A failure to reach a post-Brexit deal would lead to more chaos on Britain's borders with the EU at the start of 2021, when new tariffs would add to other impediments to trade enacted by both sides. The talks have bogged down on two main issues over the past days -- the EU's access to U.K. fishing waters and assurances of fair competition between businesses.

A trade deal would ensure there are no tariffs and quotas on trade in goods between the two sides, but there would still be technical costs, partly associated with customs checks and non-tariff barriers on services.

While both sides would suffer economically from a failure to secure a trade deal, most economists think the British economy would take a greater hit, at least in the near-term, as it is relatively more reliant on trade with the EU than vice versa.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

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