negotiators for the uk and the eu have
spent the day
in last-ditch talks to try to secure a
post-brexit trade deal
the head of the uk team lord frost said
they were working very hard to reach an
accord
although ireland's prime minister said
that things were on a knife edge
the uk left the eu at the beginning of
the year but the two sides have been
talking for months now to try to agree a
new trading relationship
which is due to start on january the 1st
tonight eu sources
and downing street are making different
claims on signs of progress over fishing
rights more on that in a moment
two other main issues competition rules
and how a deal would be enforced remain
unresolved political correspondent chris
mason reports
back in brussels the uk's chief
negotiator lord frost arriving for
what's described on the british side
as the last roll of the dice in trade
talks with the eu
we're working very hard to try and get a
deal we're going to see what happens at
negotiations today
and we will be looking forward to
meeting our european colleagues later on
this afternoon thank you very much
there is frustration in government at
what is seen as the eu's
failure to understand the importance of
the uk's newfound
independence we want to be doing a free
trade agreement as a sovereign equal
with the
european union and so anything that that
undermines our ability to control our
own waters for instance or undermines
our ability to make our own laws isn't
something we can accept
tonight eu sources suggest agreement
could be near
on fishing rights the uk government
source said there had been
no such breakthrough and the issue of
fair competition
and how any agreement is enforced remain
sticking points
as lord frost arrived at the european
commission he was reminded that the
french are worried
about not being able to catch as many
fish
what's your message to emmanuel macron
and supporters of the french government
will tell anyone who'll listen
they'll say no to a deal they don't like
this is the framing of the relationship
between
the uk and the eu for years decades to
come
and so we have to be absolutely
convinced on both sides of the channel
that is the right framing for this
relationship
and if it is not we shouldn't sign it if
there is a deal
parliament will be asked to endorse it
that's likely to be a formality given
boris johnson's citable majority
but labour are divided about what to do
they regard no deal as a disaster but
can't agree whether it would be wise
to endorse any deal the government does
we'll have to look of course
at the content of a deal but also any
legislation that comes to poland we're
not going to give them a blank check but
i think i have been very clear both
today and
on previous programs with you andrew
that the most
important thing is that the government
get a deal
and tonight on that big question the
likelihood of a deal
a big player in the drama of brexit the
irish prime minister
said this i got instinct is that it's 50
50 right now
and i don't think one can be overly
optimistic about resolution emerging
and so there is still plenty to discuss
in brussels after the rouse the anger
and the bitterness
of the last four and a half years since
the eu referendum
another crucial moment of decision
beckons so the talks are on a knife edge
says the irish
prime minister and rita we have the two
sides on the issue of fish
seemingly not being able to agree on
what
they agree on meanwhile tomorrow worth
keeping an eye here
on parliament the return of the internal
market bill
a bit of legislation that could mean the
uk breach is the last agreement it made
with brussels
at just the point it's trying to
negotiate the next one
and on the trade deal both sides still
want to do a deal
if they can and compromise has a habit
of turning up
fashionably late at negotiations but it
may
not turn up at all and in that instance
we'd be looking at a no deal brexit
three weeks on friday chris thank you
our political correspondent chris mason
there
well as chris was saying they've been
conflicting accounts over the past few
days about where progress has or hasn't
been made
but the main sticking points have been
known for months our reality check
correspondent chris morris looks at the
main issues
the final days of negotiation and while
fishing may be a tiny part of the
economy
on both sides of the channel it's of
huge political importance
it was central to the take back control
message in the 2016 referendum
what's at stake now is access to these
uk waters where eu boats currently catch
about 600 million pounds worth of fish
every year
the uk wants much of that back so it's
about the uk share of fishing
quotas not just where you can fish but
how much you can catch
there's also the timeline for measures
coming into full force
the eu wants a status quo period of up
to 10 years
the uk says it should be much shorter
than that
the other main area of disagreement is
the level playing field
rules on fair competition for billions
of pounds of business
now and in the future the two sides are
trying to agree a common baseline on
workers rights
and the environmental regulations that
companies have to follow
if you cut regulations it can be cheaper
to make stuff
and the eu is worried the uk could do
that in the future
then there's state aid or government
subsidies for business
the uk is determined to assert its
sovereignty and it's refusing to follow
eu rules but the eu says it has to
protect companies
within its single market so the third
main area of disagreement
how you enforce a deal and resolve any
disputes
the eu is demanding the right to
retaliate if the uk breaks the rules in
one area
by hitting back in another imposing
tariffs or taxes for example
where it thinks they might hurt the most
then there's the question
of who adjudicates any disputes and the
potential role
of the european court of justice but in
this final push for a deal it's worth
emphasizing that even if an agreement is
reached there are big changes coming
new bureaucracy checks and paperwork for
traders and travelers crossing the
border from january the first
a deal would remove some of them
including crucially tariffs on goods
but outside the single market and the
customs union things will be very
different
the choice now a pretty hard form of
brexit
or no deal at all chris morris bbc news
let's speak to our europe editor katya
adler who's in brussels for us katya
there is claim and counter claim tonight
about progress on fishing
that's right look i am hearing from some
in the eu that the negotiators who've
been hard at work in the european
commission
uh building that you see just there
behind me are nearing
a deal on fish this has been strongly
denied in the uk now that is confusing
rita but
this kind of mixed messaging at five to
midnight
on a deal like this with so much at
stake isn't
exactly uncommon what i'm also hearing
is that on the two
other outstanding issues we heard about
that in chris's report the two sides are
still very far apart
so the eu really does want to tie the uk
to some kind of
agreed fair competition principles as it
calls it in exchange
for good access to its single market
and but the uk says after brexit it
wants sovereignty it wants to be free to
be able to make up its own rules and
regulations
and because there's little mutual trust
that you is then saying
okay well we need to find a good way to
enforce our agreement there to make sure
that both sides
stick to the rules or otherwise face
pretty
tough consequences all of these issues
will make or break this deal rita we
have another day of negotiations ahead
of us
and then another call between the prime
minister and the president
of the european commission ursula fonda
lyon to see where we are by then
katya many thanks catcher adler there in
brussels