EU states take a hard line over Brexit fisheries concessions

A showdown on Brexit at a European Union summit next week, although concessions on fish have been stirring up concerns again in recent days which could prevent the efforts to reach a wider trade accord.

We are now in a two-week period of intense talks and the latest is Fisheries officials from eight coastal member states yesterday agreed unanimously that the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier should take a tougher line in the talks, which are entering a critical phase.

This is highly problematic considering that under the terms of the future relationship negotiations, there can be no overall free trade agreement unless there has been a deal on fisheries.

It was reported that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put a particular emphasis on fisheries during his phone call with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday.

GBP/USD is under pressure on the day so far, down some 0.5% to 1.2906.