EU's Barnier says UK position makes trade deal "unlikely"

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator said on Thursday that the United Kingdom had shown no willingness to break the deadlock on level playing field and fisheries, making sealing a new trade agreement "unlikely".

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator said on Thursday that the United Kingdom had shown no willingness to break the deadlock on the level playing field and fisheries, making sealing a new trade agreement "unlikely". "By its current refusal to commit to conditions of open and fair competition and to a balanced agreement on fisheries, the UK makes a trade agreement at this point unlikely," MIchel Barnier said.

Speaking after this week's round of negotiations in London, Barnier said there been no progress at all on the question of ensuring fairness on state aid. "The time for answers is quickly running out," he told a news conference, referring to the five months left before the end of Britain's transition period since it formally left the EU at the end of January. "If we do not reach an agreement on our future partnership there will be more friction."