Barnier: EU-UK trade agreement unlikely at this point

Negotiators working to establish new trade relations between Britain and the European Union admitted on Thursday there was a long way to go despite progress being made in the complex talks.

In comments delivered at the end of the latest round of talks, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier agreed that there were sticking points and made clear the consequences.

The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on January 31 but remains inside the EU's tariff-free economic zone until the end of the year. The parties are trying to secure a new trade agreement before that deadline to avoid a "no deal" scenario which would see tariffs and other restrictions imposed on trade between the U.K. and the 27-nation bloc.

"By its current refusal to commit to conditions of open and fair competition and to a balanced agreement on fisheries, the U.K. makes a trade agreement, at this point, unlikely,'' Barnier said.

Barnier took up the hotly contested issue of fishing rights, and said the U.K. is asking for "near total exclusion of EU fishing vessels" from its waters, demands he deemed as "simply unacceptable."

Barnier insisted there was an "objective risk" of not reaching a deal as long as the British demands on the level playing field and the fisheries remained the same.

"We only have a few weeks left, and we should not waste them," Barnier said, noting that the U.K. did not show enough willingness to break the deadlock.