‘Complete lack of movement’ on fishing set to trigger no-deal Brexit, UK officials warn

EU refuses to budge on totemic issue as time ticks away on transition period

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier walks with members of the EU delegation in London.
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The odds of no-deal Brexit are increasing as a result of a “complete lack of movement” from the EU in the ongoing row over fishing rights, UK officials have warned.

Progress has been made on issues including law enforcement, transport and social security, but a source told Politico’s London Playbook that if Brussels continues to demand free access to UK waters and continuity in fishing quotas, no agreement on post-Brexit trade can be reached.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.