Brexit: Ireland tells the EU to help ‘break the logjam’ and insists an agreement is ‘97% done’

Ireland last night urged the EU to help ‘break the logjam’ in Brexit trade talks as he insisted that an agreement with the UK is ‘within reach’ – despite Boris Johnson claiming that a No Deal scenario is a ‘strong possibility’.

Speaking before a summit of EU leaders yesterday, Irish premier Micheal Martin insisted that there are no ‘winners or losers’ and said neither side should walk away when ’97 per cent of a deal had been agreed’. 

Ireland is the member state most at risk from Britain crashing out of the Single Market and Customs Union on January 1 and straight onto World Trade Organisation terms – euphemistically dubbed ‘Australia-style’ by No10.

The Dublin government has been playing a key role behind the scenes in attempting to get both sides to strike a compromise, as British and EU officials continue to toughen up their negotiating positions. 

It came after Mr Johnson and EU chief Ursula von de Leyen were unable to find a way through the impasse in Brussels on Wednesday, and instead ordered Michel Barnier and Lord Frost to re-engage, on the understanding that unless a resolution has emerged by Sunday the plug will be pulled.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Martin said: ‘Dialogue is key and both teams have given themselves a deadline of this Sunday, and I think the key to unlocking this is to stand back and look at the overall picture here. There can be no winners or losers in these negotiations from now on. There has to be a common purpose in terms of getting a deal over the line because it makes sense to get a trading deal.

‘It makes sense to get a trade deal. I’m very aware of the difficulties around a level playing field, the dispute resolution mechanism and fisheries.’

Mr Martin said he did not expect a breakthrough in the meeting between European Commission president Ms von der Leyen and Mr Johnson on Wednesday. ‘I think the fact that they met for quite a lengthy period of time and that frank exchange of views in itself is a good thing, and the fact that the negotiators are mandated to go back in again and try to break the logjam,’ he added.

‘Dialogue is key and both teams have given themselves a deadline of this Sunday. I think the key to unlocking this is to stand back and look at the overall picture here. Ninety-seven per cent of this is agreed. Are we saying we are going to lose out on a deal because of three per cent? Notwithstanding the significance of the issues. 

‘The bottom line is a lot of work has been done, a lot of agreement has been reached, so one final effort is required. There will, obviously, be the need for a compromise at the end of the day.’ 

The EU has set out its no-deal contingency plans if a trade deal is not in place when the current arrangements expire at the end of the month, with what Tories complained was an offer to smooth disruption to freight and air travel in return for ongoing access to UK waters.  

The regulations would mean air safety measures would continue to be recognised, to avoid grounding planes, and carriers would still be able to fly over both  territories.

Basic connections by road freight and for road passengers would also continue for six months as long as they are reciprocal. Separate regulations, if approved by EU member states, would keep the Channel Tunnel road and rail links open for two months, until Britain and France agree new safety and supervision certificates.

But in an apparent trade off the commission said it was proposing ‘to create the appropriate legal framework’ for ‘continued reciprocal access by EU and UK vessels to each other’s waters after 31 December 2020’ – or until a ‘fisheries agreement with the UK has been concluded’.

As it stands, legally EU fleets have no access to the UK’s sovereign waters after December 31. The idea was swiftly dismissed by Downing Street, although there were reports the commission has suggested it can be treated separately to the other proposals.     

Last night the PM warned there is now a ‘strong possibility’ of the UK and the EU parting ways on December 31 without a trade deal in place. 

Mr Johnson said yesterday that he is stepping up British preparations for a chaotic split from Brussels at the end of the ‘standstill’ post-Brexit transition period. 

He said the ‘deal on the table is really not at the moment right for the UK’ and ‘we’re really not there yet at all’ on the crunch issue of fishing rights.  

However, the premier vowed to ‘keep going’ and to ‘go the extra mile’ to try to break the negotiating deadlock as he raised the prospect of a whistle stop tour of EU capitals in the coming days to get a deal over the line. 

Mr Johnson said he is willing to ‘go to Brussels, I will go to Paris, I will go to Berlin, I will go to wherever to try and get this home and get a deal’. But with time running out before the end of the transition period, Mr Johnson said now is the time to ramp up no deal preparations.

‘We’re not stopping talks, we’ll continue to negotiate but looking at where we are I do think it’s vital that everyone now gets ready for that Australian option,’ he said. 

The Government has long-described a no deal departure as the UK having an ‘Australia-style’ relationship with the EU because the country has no trade agreement with the bloc. 

Mr Johnson said that sticking points include ‘equivalence’, which he said would keep the UK ‘locked’ in the bloc’s regulatory orbit, and fisheries, which he said the current proposals mean ‘we wouldn’t still have control of our waters’.

The Office for Budget Responsibility financial watchdog has suggested that a no-deal outcome could wipe two per cent off GDP next year, which experts have indicated could be around £45billion.

As stock markets in Europe closed the pound was down 1.18 per cent against the euro and down 0.84 per cent against the dollar, with traders nervous as time for a deal to be agreed slipped away.

Mr Johnson’s intervention came after France trolled the UK that it is ‘ready’ for no deal and Brexiteers accused Ursula von der Leyen of ‘blackmail’ after she pushed the button on the EU’s contingency plans and urged increasingly panicky member states not to do ‘side deals’ with Mr Johnson.

With both sides pushing the trade negotiations to the brink, Emmanuel Macron pointedly dispatched senior ministers to view new arrangements at the Eurostar terminal in Paris. The French Europe minister Clement Beaune said ‘our preparations are in place’. 

Tensions have escalated again as the European Commission President warned the situation was ‘difficult’ after her three-hour dinner with Mr Johnson in Brussels last night failed to break the impasse.

Arriving for a European Council summit yesterday, Ms von der Leyen insisted leaders will discuss the Brexit situation later, after a ‘final’ deadline of Sunday was set to come up with a way of settling crunch disputes over level playing field provisions, fishing rights and enforcement.   

Tory MP David Jones, one of the heads of the influential Eurosceptic ERG group, told MailOnline: ‘The EU’s proposals confirm that they have still not come to terms with the fact that we are no longer a member state. 

‘They are proposing arrangements that benefit them more than they do us, but are still demanding that we adhere to their level playing field.

‘They are demanding our fish while offering nothing of substance in return. This is outrageous conduct – almost blackmail – and our government should have nothing to do with it.’

The plans emerged as Dominic Raab accused the EU of failing to respect ‘democracy’ by demanding unacceptable concessions on UK sovereignty. He would not categorically rule out any more talks after Sunday, but said it was ‘unlikely’.