PARIS (Reuters) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said in Sunday it was urgent to reach an agreement on Brexit trade talks and he blamed the stalemate on Britain’s attitude.
“The British people do not seem to understand that if one wants to negotate a good deal, one must talk about all issues,” Le Drian told France Inter radio.
“It’s not going well, with only two months left, it is urgent, the countdown has started. We prefer to reach a deal but we need to discuss the whole package, including fisheries, to avoid a no-deal,” he added.
The United Kingdom formally left the EU on Jan. 31 but it remains in a transition phase under which EU rules still apply until Dec. 31, after which either a new trade regime comes into force or it will revert to rules set by the World Trade Organisation.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
