Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the French President Emmanuel Macron to “respect our sovereignty” as they have accused the government of deliberately stalling with Brexit trade talks.
Jean-Yves Le Drian French Foreign Minister said the Brexit trade talks were not advancing due to the “intransigent and unrealistic attitude of the United Kingdom.”
The French Foreign Minister told the country’s ambassadors, the EU27 will not buckle under pressure from the UK.
He added, “On Brexit we always showed unity and proved wrong those who saw signs of an overall implosion of Europe.
“It is in staying united that we can stick to our line of a global accord.”
Downing Street hit back at the accusations, and a spokeswoman said, “We have been clear from the outset about the principles underlying the UK approach: we are seeking a relationship that respects our sovereignty and which has a free trade agreement at its core, similar to those the EU has already agreed with like-minded countries.
“However, the EU is still insisting not only that we must accept continuity with EU state aid and fisheries policy, but also that this must be agreed before any further substantive work can be done in any other area of the negotiation, including on legal texts, making it unnecessarily difficult to make progress.
“We will continue to work hard to reach agreement and look forward to the next round taking place next week.”
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