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The countdown to Brexit has begun

But there are three areas where little progress is being made. The fishing waters, the rules that should be the same for companies in the European Union as in the United Kingdom and the question of what measures you can take to punish the other if the rules are broken.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to be quite creative when it comes to the three tricky topics, she said. “But we do need rules. Trust is good, but legislation is better.”

These are decisive days, as it sounds in Brussels. Deadlines are again being discussed. The first is that of the government leaders next week. In itself, that is a flexible deadline, as the leaders can even approve an agreement on December 31. The European Parliament, which is less flexible, would prefer to discuss the agreement in the last meeting week (mid-December) of this year. The negotiation text must then be translated into all EU languages, so there must be texts during the Sinterklaas weekend.

Meanwhile, an additional parliamentary meeting during the Christmas recess is being expected. Even approval (with retroactive effect) after January 1 is possible.

Emergency plans

Fears that no agreement will ultimately be reached between the United Kingdom and the European Union is growing. The Netherlands wants the European Commission to get rid of the emergency plans, because without an agreement it will become chaos on 1 January, with freight traffic jammed and aircraft no longer able to land in London or the European capitals.

Of the three points at issue between the EU and the United Kingdom, the fishing areas are the most fraught. The European fishing countries (located on the North Sea) want to continue to have access to British waters. France stands for its fishermen and this weekend the Flemish minister Crevits also announced that Belgian fishermen must keep access to British waters.

And that is absolutely non-negotiable for the British. For many Brexit supporters, regaining control of British waters is a symbol of the new independence. According to media reports, Barnier has made an offer to return 15 to 18 percent of the fishing rights, while the British reportedly want the EU to give up 80 percent of the rights. A big gap to bridge.

Below is an overview of how Brexit will change the distribution of fishing waters. The text continues below the images.

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