Clement Beaune leaves the cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace. File photo/ Reuters

France’s EU affairs minister on Tuesday called for unity in the 27-nation bloc over fisheries negotiations with Britain that are part of troubled broader talks aimed at keeping trade flowing freely despite Brexit.

Arriving for talks with his EU peers on Brexit ahead of a summit of the bloc’s leaders later this week, Clement Beaune said it was “important ... to remind of the need for a very united position from the 27, of the European Union.”

READ MORE

French government cannot rule out option of COVID curfew

EU leaders to insist on tough enforcement powers in Brexit deal

He said the bloc needed to be “very firm” on top priorities including fisheries and fair competition safeguards he said were the “sine qua non” conditions to access the EU’s internal market of 450 million people without trade barriers.

Reuters