BRUSSELS – The European Union took a defiant tone on Wednesday as the standoff over resuming post-Brexit trade negotiations with the United Kingdom intensified, telling London that “you cannot have your cake and eat it too.” European Council President Charles Michel refused to bow to British insistence for the EU to fundamentally change its negotiating stance and cede more to U.K.
demands. Michel said instead that if Britain wants vast access to the 27-member bloc's markets, it will equally have to keep its waters open to EU fishermen, something the U.K.
government has said it doesn't want to do. In a combative display at the European Parliament, Michel said: “Yes, we want to keep access to U.K.