BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2020) The two-day summit of the European Council started in Brussels on Thursday, with a focus on the post-Brexit trade deal, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the EU policy on climate change and foreign affairs.
BREXIT TALSK STILL IN STALEMATE
Earlier in October, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said that he was "worried and disappointed" about the lack of concessions from his UK counterpart, David Frost, adding that the end of the month was a "strict deadline" to finalize an agreement for the next year.
After the first day of the summit, Barnier said that "a lot of work needs to be done" and the sides would continue negotiations in London on Monday. Barnier added that talks may last another two full weeks.
In addition, European Council President Charles Michel said that the EU is concerned by the lack of progress, stands behind Barnier and calls on the UK "to make the necessary moves."
"All EU27 Leaders stand behind their negotiator. We all want to reach an agreement, but not at any price. Withdrawal agreement has to be fully implemented. Full stop," Michel wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Frost said that he was disappointed by the EU summit's conclusions on the current talks and surprised over the lack of bloc's commitment to reach the agreement. The UK's negotiator added that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out London's reaction and approach on Friday.
If no trade deal is secured before the transition period expires on December 31, the World Trade Organization's rules for both parties will come into effect starting 2021, including customs tariffs and full border checks for UK goods entering the EU.
Many European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have confirmed that it would be impossible to strike the deal before the end of October. European heads of states mostly highlighted the issues of post-Brexit governance and the so-called level-playing field � the set of common rules and standards designed to prevent businesses in one country from undercutting their rivals in other countries � ahead of the summit.
However, fisheries remain among the main sticking points for the UK, Spain and France. Macron has said that "French fishermen will not be sacrificed" for the deal. At the same time, if the sides fail to reach the deal, French fishing boats will not be able to enter the UK waters. Notably, upon arriving at the summit, Macron said that "preserving access for our fishermen [in the UK waters] is an important point."
More and more European countries are re-imposing coronavirus-related restrictions amid a surge in the daily increment of COVID-19 cases. Macron has blamed violations of coronavirus measures for the need to introduce stricter restrictions. French authorities in several cities have already closed cafes and bars, while the president introduced a curfew from 09:00 p.m to 06:00 a.m. (19:00 to 04:00 GMT) amid the worsening epidemiological situation.
At the same time, Belgium has introduced a 4-hour curfew in some cities, while Sweden only made health recommendations to citizens. As the number of cases in Sweden, which did not impose a full lockdown, is not much higher than in other countries, the question of what kind of response to the pandemic is more effective remains unanswered.
Meanwhile, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has said that the coronavirus is the most important issue for Prague during the ongoing summit, as the health situation in the central European country is "one of the worst" at the moment.
GREEN DEAL, CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050
Ahead of the meeting, Michel said that the EU leaders need to make a decision by the end of the year on CO2 emission 2030 targets to be able to reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
"And today, we will have also the occasion to have an orientation debate on the climate change, we need to make a decision by the end of the year on our goals by 2030, and it will be the occasion to identify what are the important building blocks in order to make an agreement possible in December. Climate change is a very important topic," Michel said.
At the same time, the council's president added that following the path towards carbon neutrality may hurt the economy of the EU.
BELARUS, NAVALNY, OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS ISSUES
Lithuania has been insisting that the council should include the ongoing political unrest in Belarus in the meeting's agenda as Vilnius wants to introduce a second package of sanctions against Minsk. Lithuanian authorities have also thanked other member states for recalling their ambassadors from Minsk after Belarus urged Lithuania and Poland to reduce their embassy personnel.
Meanwhile, Luxembourgian Prime Minister Xavier Bettel mentioned that the EU leaders would discuss the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny by a chemical substance from the Novichok group. The bloc has already imposed sanctions over the Navalny case against six Russian officials and a scientific institution.
Macron has announced France's full support to Germany regarding the Navalny case and said that investigations have proved that it was "an assassination attempt". The French president also said that the EU stands against the use of chemical weapons.
At the same time, Macron has said that the EU purses a path of a "transparent but demanding" dialog with Russia over the matter. Russia has demanded that Germany, where Navalny is underwent treatment, make the case materials available to Russian investigators.
The EU meeting's agenda also includes the bloc's relations with Turkey amid Athens-Ankara tensions over maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean sea, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, and the EU-Africa relations.
