World News for Students of English

28-10-2020 07:00

The chief negotiators of the UK and the EU met for intensive negotiations on a trade deal that would stave off an emotional end to the five-year-old Brexit crisis.

The key point of tension between the EU and Britain is fishing which alone made just 0.03% of Britain’s economic output in 2019; however, it is an emotional subject for Brexit supporters. They see fishing as a symbol of Britain’s sovereignty that leaving the EU should bring.

Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, insisted that the country would take back control of UK’s waters while the EU wants to keep access to it. In France, British waters are important and if they were locked out, it would cause trouble to the French president.

Other areas of the debate include economic fair play and finding ways to settle future trade disputes.

Difficult words: stave off (to make something last longer), output (the quantity or amount produced), sovereignty (supreme power or authority), dispute (an argument or disagreement).

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