Brexit Negotiators To Hold Discussion To Revive Talks

The U.K. and European Union’s chief negotiators will hold talks for the second time in two days, as they attempt to restart Brexit discussions despite the fact Boris Johnson suspended them last week.

David Frost will reportedly hold talks with Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart, on Tuesday.

The call comes after the U.K. rejected the EU’s push to continue trade talks. However, recently Barnier said he would be willing to reopen the discussions and begin working on the legal text following a conversation with Frost, Reuters reported.

Even with talks opening back up, Frost warned that there were fundamental changes that still needed to be made between both parties.

“The EU still needs to make a fundamental change in approach to the talks, and make clear it has done so,” Frost said in a Twitter post.

The British government also argues that the EU has run down the clock and hasn’t negotiated in good faith by refusing to start drafting a legal text in the seven months since negotiations began. It has also criticized the bloc for being reluctant to hold intensive discussions. The EU argued that it is waiting for the U.K. to make serious offers to continue negotiations.

“Movement needs to come from the EU side as well as the U.K.,” James Slack, a spokesperson for Johnson, told reporters on Tuesday.

The U.K. needs a “clear assurance from the EU that it has made a fundamental change in the talks, and this is going to be a genuine negotiation rather than one side making all the moves.”

Even when the discussions resume, there are still major disagreements that the two sides need to overcome before striking a deal. One of the biggest disagreements that will be discussed pertains to fishing waters. Most notably, the U.K. wants the EU to back down on its demands for the same access to British fishing waters.