Chief UK negotiator says 'gaps' remain in Brexit talks

Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost said Thursday that "big differences remain" between the UK and the European Union, despite some progress being made in complex talks to establish new trade relations.

Speaking after the latest round of talks in London, Frost said substantial areas of disagreement remained, particularly on questions of fair and open competition and fishing.

Frost said that one of the biggest difficulties was that the EU had not fully recognised the principles set out by the British government affirming the country's "status and future as an independent state."

"The big underlying difficulty is that it hasn't yet recognised that it needs to adapt its position to those principles, if we're going to reach an agreement, he said."

The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on Jan. 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.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier agreed there were sticking points - and made clear the consequences.

“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,'' he said.