EU's Barnier: Cannot be a trade deal with UK without a deal on fishing, level playing field

The coronavirus outbreak makes reaching a Brexit deal with the UK even more important, EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday. Barnier further added that their ambition is still to reach a deal with Britain in all sectors.

Additional takeaways

"We welcome competition with Britain, as a non-EU state, but must be balanced, fair."

"Britain is in a unique position in terms of proximity to the EU and volume of trade."

"Relationship with Britain won't be the same as the EU's with Canada, Japan."

"There cannot be a trade deal with Britain without a deal on fishing, the level playing field."

Market reaction

The UK's FTSE 100 Index clings to modest daily gains at 6,340 points after these remarks. Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair was last seen gaining 0.37% on the day at 1.2776.