Brexit negotiations extend for a few more days

The only agreement is that there is no agreement. For now. In a joint statement by the President of the European Commission and the British Prime Minister, the two leaders have said that "it is responsible to make an extra effort, despite the fact that deadlines have been constantly missed".

During Wednesday's meeting, today was set as the deadline for assessing whether positions were so far apart that it was better for Brexit to take place without agreement or whether, on the contrary, it was worth making a final effort. So far, only a basis for agreement has been reached on the Protocol on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Fisheries is one of the main sticking points. The two teams are clashing on this issue despite the fact that it is of little real importance, for example, to the British economy. However, in both London and Paris it is a sensitive issue at national level, and so the situation is entrenched. 

The other two points that are in dispute would actually be one and they have to do with confidence. Brussels is concerned that London may play disloyalty in failing to meet the level playing field and favouring its businesses despite the possibility of access to the Single Market. And also, how to enforce the UK if this level playing field is not applied in areas such as labour rights or respect for the environment. This is a curious fact when the UK's 2030 target is higher than the European Commission's own target.

During the past EUCO, the position of some leaders was clear, "we are preparing for the no agreement", and that is the most likely scenario today. Although in the United Kingdom the political situation for dealing with a tough Brexit is better than in previous years, given the overwhelming victory of the Tories in the last elections, there is concern about the impact that this lack of agreement may have on an economy that is trying to recover from the crisis that has caused the pandemic. Given the uncertainty in the markets, while waiting for the vaccines to start arriving or not, facing such a tortuous way out could have consequences that were not foreseeable in London just a year ago.

In any case, the teams will continue to work over the next week to seek a rapprochement on any of these points that will give some hope of an agreement before the horn sounds and the UK's presence in the European Union is no more than a past event.