Simon Coveney: 'No progress' on Brexit despite 'very intense' negotiations

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said there has been 'no progress at all' on Brexit. File Picture.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said the EU mood has become more resigned to no deal on a future trading relationship with the UK being agreed.

Mr Coveney was speaking as he returned from Brussels on Monday evening as Wednesday's deadline comes ever nearer. British prime minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a 90-minute phone call on Monday evening which reached no conclusions as the mood around a deal darkened. 

As crisis talks with Brussels' top brass continue this evening, it's clear that we are a long way from an acceptable deal.

No deal has always been better than a bad deal. Good to hear that Boris still means business - let's hope he sticks to his guns!

— Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) December 7, 2020

Mr Coveney said that there had been "no progress at all" from "two very intense days of negotiations".

We are now at a very delicate point in these negotiations and without political intervention from the very top, then I think people are increasingly pessimistic that the negotiating teams can get this deal done."

He said fisheries had become more of an issue than it had previously. It has been reported that the UK has now asked that pelagic fish stocks such as mackerel not be dealt with in these talks.

"On fish, new problems, if anything, are being put on the table, not solutions. And that's not just on pelagic fish stocks, it's on other issues as well in terms of investment and ownership in the UK fisheries industry."

For info: UK Government statement on the UK-EU Joint Committee and the Implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol - https://t.co/AHOiDZbgHU https://t.co/t4Np2fxokD

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) December 7, 2020

Mr Coveney said EU ministers are become "increasingly frustrated" and "increasingly resigned to a no-deal scenario". He said  it was incumbent on the UK to find a way to break the logjam.

In Brussels, at least, the mood is starting to shift towards contingency planning for a no deal as opposed to the compromises needed to reach a deal. 

"There is a need, particularly on the British side, for a political intervention that can find ways to break the impasse.

"There is no way the EU can sign up to a future arrangement unless there is a reassurance around fair competition."

Mr Coveney said the UK's statement that it would be willing to remove parts of its Internal Markets Bill if a deal is reached is "helpful". These articles refer to the Northern Irish Protocol. Mr Coveney said it was "an attempt to inject some trust into a process which has lacked trust for some time".

He said that he believed Wednesday was a hard deadline and political intervention was now needed.