Michel Barnier has been warned by
France and five other EU states not to
concede too much to the UK in efforts
to get a Brexit deal over the line.
Mr Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator,
briefed European ambassadors and
MEPs yesterday after France, Spain,
Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Denmark raised concerns over the
talks.
“As we are entering the endgame of
Brexit negotiations, some member
states are becoming a bit jittery,” an EU
diplomat said. “So this was mostly an
exercise to calm nerves in Paris and
elsewhere, and to reassure member
states that Team Barnier will continue
to defend core EU interests.”
France and other countries are said
to have suggested that the EU should be
prepared to walk away and trigger
France will push for no-deal
if UK refuses to give ground
no-deal unless the UK government
makes significant concessions soon.
The hardliners urged that unless the
UK backs down over the next 48 hours,
the European Union should declare
that negotiations have failed and allow
the economic pain of a short no-deal
period to bring a chastened Britain back
to the table next year.
The French, Dutch, Belgians and
Danes, with key fishing interests in
British waters, have formed a bloc with
the Spaniards and Italians, who have
competition concerns, because they
fear that Mr Barnier and the European
Commission “are giving too many con-
cessions” in the talks.
“Member states want to be involved
in the decision before the negotiators
decide whether to strike a deal or not,”
a diplomatic source said.
The French and others fear that Ger-
many is ready to compromise and “give
too much” to ensure smoother tradingconditions for industry next year.
“Germany wants an agreement now
but there are political consequences in
other states if the conditions demanded
by the EU on a level playing field and
fishing are not met,” a source said.
“There can be no question of conclud-
ing a degraded agreement.”
The EU has rejected a fresh British
offer for European fishing boats to be
allowed to keep 40 per cent of fish,
defined by value, that they presently
catch in British waters. This remains
well short of the 80-plus per cent de-
manded by Mr Barnier last month.
The government is additionally
proposing a transitional period to phase
in cuts to fishing quotas for European
boats when Britain leaves the EU com-
mon fisheries policy and takes control
of fish stocks in its coastal waters.
Sources said that Philippe Léglise-
Costa, the French ambassador to the
EU, argued that ending the transitionperiod without a deal would only
“add a small shock to the big shock of
Brexit”. He said that no deal would
avoid negative consequences in the
long run and trade negotiations could
continue in 2021 without time pressure
on the EU to make concessions. Speak-
ing to MEPs, Mr Barnier said that the
UK government was “starting to move”
on fair competition rules for British and
European countries in return for access
to the EU’s single market.
Boris Johnson told a Downing Street
press conference that “our friends
know what our bottom line is” but that
a “deal is what we are all working for”.
Allegra Stratton, Mr Johnson’s press
secretary, earlier said that he was “opti-
mistic” that an agreement could be
reached, “but he has always said that he
is confident and comfortable that we
would be OK without a deal.”
PM must prove he hasn’t served his
purpose, Iain Martin, page 35Bruno Waterfield Brussels
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Calls to ban night flights at airports
have been rejected despite the
government’s admission that noisy
planes have “adverse health impacts”.
The restrictions on night flights at
Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted
would be maintained until at least
October 2024 under proposals from the
Department for Transport (DfT).
In a small concession, the govern-
ment has proposed banning older jum-
bo jets from taking off between 11.30pm
represented residents living near air-
ports such as Bristol, East Midlands,
Gatwick, Glasgow and Southampton.
A document published yesterday
said that night flights were an “impor-
tant contributor” to the economic ben-
efits provided by aviation. However, it
acknowledged that noise from aircraft
“taking off and landing at night is often
regarded as the most disturbing form of
airport operations”. There was evi-
dence that “sleep disturbance caused by
aircraft night operations can have
adverse health impacts on overflowncommunities”. Studies have shown a
higher risk of high blood pressure and
increased rates of hospital admissions
for strokes and heart disease.
Nevertheless, the plan, which is sub-
ject to a public consultation until
March, proposes to maintain the night
flight regime for Heathrow, Gatwick
and Stansted between 2022 and 2024.
John Stewart, chairman of Hacan,
which opposes the expansion of Heath-
row, said: “No night flights is what most
communities want. The government
should have that as its target.”Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent
HIV results delayed
Haemophiliac patients were not
told they were HIV positive for
two months after results were
available in October 1984, the
Infected Blood Inquiry has heard.
Professor Christopher Ludlam,
formerly of the Royal Infirmary
of Edinburgh, said he was taken
aback by the results and “wanted
to inform patients in a controlled
way”. The inquiry continues.US ‘punishing’ Assange
The US is persecuting Julian
Assange because of his
“politically charged publications”,
lawyers for the WikiLeaks
founder claim. Mr Assange, 49, is
in custody at Belmarsh jail in
southeast London while fighting
the US government’s request to
extradite him on 18 charges.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser is due to
give her judgment on January 4.Antisemitism inquiry
Microsoft’s search engine is being
investigated by MPs on the all-
party group against antisemitism
after it appeared to promote
Holocaust denial. Anyone asking
Bing if the Holocaust was a hoax
would see affirmative responses
in the results, the MPs found.
They called for “urgent necessary
action” by the company, which
was unavailable for comment.£57,500 birthday malt
A rare bottle of whisky bought as
a 50th birthday present for £
has sold for £57,500 at auction.
The Macallan described as the
“holy grail for malt whisky” was
one of 500 bottles distilled in
1928 and bottled in 1983. The
seller intended to drink it on his
80th birthday but contacted
Brightwells the auctioneers when
he discovered its value.Man cut wife’s throat
A controlling husband murdered
his wife and daughter by slitting
their throats in a jealous rage at
how close they were, a court was
told. Marcin Zdun, 40, a Tesco
worker, killed Aneta, 40, and
Nikoleta, 18, in the “most brutal
fashion” at home in Salisbury,
Wiltshire, in June after his wife
said she wanted a divorce. He
denies two counts of murder but
admits killing the pair, claiming
he has “no recollection” of the
incident. The trial at Winchester
crown court continues.A A A A C C D E
E E E E E E E I
R R R S S S S S
S T T T T T T TSolve all five clues using each
letter underneath once only1 Unit of area ( 4 )2 Tip of a wave ( 5 )3 Say again (7)4 Residential developments (7)5 In America ( 9 )Quintagram® No 86 3
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Cryptic clues every day onlineROYAL COLLECTION TRUST/PAPlea to ban noisy night flights over health fears is rejected
and 6am. The DfT admitted that this
would have a “minimal” impact on the
aviation industry. British Airways re-
tired the last of its 747s in October and
Virgin Atlantic will follow this month.
Heathrow said last night that the
change was “not a significant concern”.
Campaigners said that the plan was a
“wasted opportunity”.
A consortium of 17 groups wrote to
Robert Courts, the aviation minister,
last month demanding a ban on take-
offs and landings at airports for eight
hours every night. The groupsMerry time at Windsor Staff put the finishing touches to the 20ft Christmas tree in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle, where the Grand Service has also gone on display
6 2GM Thursday December 3 2020 | the times
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