EU leaders stick two fingers up at Boris Johnson’s demand to speed up Brexit trade talks
EUROPEAN leaders stuck two fingers up at Boris Johnson’s demand to speed up Brexit trade talks last night at a chaotic Brussels summit.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had to rush out of the event after an hour due to a Covid scare.
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She went into self-isolation after one of her staff came down with the virus, but has tested negative herself.
Britain’s chief negotiator Lord Frost said he was “disappointed” after the gathering of the heads of the 27 EU member states provocatively refused the Prime Minister’s plea.
They instead ordered No10 to compromise to secure free flowing trade after Brexit.
However, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier turned a blind eye to the orders and promised to “speed up” talks anyway, if Mr Johnson wants to carry on.
He proposed two more weeks of negotiations in London and Brussels, insisting there are “prospects of a deal”.
During a day of sniping, French leader Emmanuel Macron insisted French fishermen would not be “sacrificed”.
He threatened to block a deal if his “conditions” are not met.
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney admitted the two sides remain “miles apart” on access to waters.
Eurocrats say a pact must be struck by the end of the first week of November so it can be signed off at an EU summit in Berlin on the 16th.
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