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Brexit Talks Go Down to Wire as EU Faces Budget Crisis

Henry Ridgwell

   LONDON - Talks between Britain and the European Union over a trade deal
   are going down to the wire, as the end of the Brexit transition period
   on December 31 draws near.

   EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels and by video link Thursday, and
   there are concerns in London that the trade talks could be sidelined as
   the bloc deals with internal disputes over its annual budget and
   COVID-19 relief fund.

   Negotiators say the UK-EU trade talks have stalled on three key areas:
   fishing rights, the level of state aid that the British government
   should be allowed to give its companies, and the governance and
   arbitration mechanism that will oversee any agreement.

   Two-way trade between Britain and the EU is worth $885 billion a year.
   Fish make up less than half of 1% of that trade, but disagreements over
   fishing rights could yet torpedo any trade deal. Britain says it wants
   to take back control of its waters and restrict access to foreign
   boats. The EU says that could devastate European fishing fleets.

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