Will the UK and EU resume talks on a trade agreement?

Johnson might be playing charades with his recent statements about Brexit but he is also playing with fire, writes Andrew Grice

Michel Barnier speaking at his press conference following the meeting (AFP/Getty)

A diplomatic dance between London and Brussels is continuing, as they hold “talks about talks” on whether to restart their stalled negotiations on a trade agreement.

David Frost, Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator, held his second phone call in two days with Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart, on Tuesday. But hopes among EU officials that they could head to London for real talks were dashed when Downing Street said nothing had yet changed.

Earlier the European Commission tried to meet a key UK demand by accepting that both sides would have to make compromises – a statement of the obvious, but one No 10 wanted to hear.  But UK officials argued this did not go far enough, as it did not amount to a “clear assurance” by the EU of the “fundamental change in approach” Mr Johnson demanded when he declared the talks “over” last Friday.

Some officials in both London and Brussels think negotiations are likely to resume within a matter of days. It might be that Mr Johnson wants to keep the EU hanging on a little while longer, to extract more public statements from it. Resuming talks too quickly after Friday’s breakdown might have looked like a retreat by him.

But the prime minister’s tactics are causing dismay in Brussels. “All this posturing is only aimed at strengthening Johnson’s hand,” one diplomat said. “If they don’t want to talk, that’s their choice. There is no point at this stage in giving them anything more.”

A frustrated Mr Barnier made clear he believes the UK is wasting time. “We should be making the most out of the little time left. Our door remains open,” he said. The EU’s official deadline for a deal is 31 October, but it could be stretched to 15 November.

Mr Johnson appears to want to play hardball to reassure voters he has wrung concessions out of the EU on the UK’s state aid regime and EU access to UK fishing waters. Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, rather gave the game away in the Commons on Monday, claiming the PM’s “firmness, strength and resolution” had already produced some EU concessions.

EU sources say that while the two sides remain far apart on the two crunch issues, a compromise could be reached if they get round the table. But they are not going to advertise concessions in public, or do what one official called “diplomacy by Twitter”.

Mr Johnson might be playing charades, but he is also playing with fire. His tactics might just result in an accidental “no deal” on 1 January, with tariffs and disruption to trade for UK businesses already reeling from coronavirus.