UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said that trade negotiations with the EU have in effect ended, adding that there is no basis to find an agreement.
The minister also said that the EU has refused to discuss legal texts in any area. He added that further talks would be meaningless and "take us no nearer to a solution."
According to the minister, if the EU wants to change the situation, it "must have a fundamental change" and "be serious about talking intensively".
"We do want an agreement but we can't have it on any terms," Gove said, as quoted by Reuters.
He said that a joint committee meeting has shown a constructive EU approach and stressed that a lot of things remain to be resolved by the committee.
EU's Reaction
Meanwhile, EU Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that the bloc is ready to intensify the negotiations.
🇪🇺🇬🇧 I just spoke to @DavidGHFrost.
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 19, 2020
As stated by President @vonderleyen on Friday, I confirmed that the EU remains available to intensify talks in London this week, on all subjects, and based on legal texts.
We now wait for the UK’s reaction.
Gove responded by saying that Barnier's move was constructive and added that he was "looking forward with optimism."
He also said that if the UK leaves without a deal "we will discuss with the EU to make sure that we have effective interim arrangements."
Will The Talks Proceed?
Last week, Brussels said that it expected the talks with London to resume despite the UK's rhetoric which showed that the country was not going to make any concessions to reach a deal.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently warned that his country was ready to exit the single market bloc without a trade deal. In this case, starting from 2021 the UK will have to be guided by WTO rules.
The negotiations to reach a deal that would outline the UK-EU post-Brexit trade relations have stalled repeatedly, the latest time being when Johnson unveiled his Internal Market Bill which Brussels views as contradicting the provisions of the previously negotiated Brexit agreement.
