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Climate change, the dispute with Turkey, the corona pandemic and the fight against terrorism: the agenda of the last periodic summit of heads of state and government today and tomorrow Friday in Brussels is well full. However, two topics that are not officially on the agenda will overshadow the meeting: the dispute over the EU budget, which the right-wing conservative governments of Hungary and Poland are vetoing (report from the left) and, above all, the dispute endless on the Brexit trade deal.
From the breakthrough at the last minute to a huge explosion that included a “hard Brexit” at the turn of the year, anything is possible. Before the late dinner of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels yesterday, there were still major obstacles.
The Briton hardened the tone before the long-awaited “Dinner for two”: on the issue of fair competition and fishing, the EU is still in positions that “no prime minister of this country should accept,” Johnson said in the low camera. London.
Much is still possible, but his country will “flourish mightily” one way or another, Johnson said confidently.
the transition phase is over
Britain had already left the EU on January 31, 2020. The contract would have to be in force before December 31, because then the transition phase of Brexit will expire. However, despite months of negotiations, no progress has yet been made. If the talks fail, there is a risk of tariffs, prolonged border congestion and other trade threats later in the year.
In recent weeks and months, both parties have repeatedly called for the willingness to compromise to prevent the talks from failing and for a no-deal scenario on January 1 with serious consequences for the economy. The time to ratify an agreement in time before the end of the year is now extremely short.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not expect a quick agreement yesterday: “There is still the possibility of an agreement,” she said in the Bundestag. Merkel emphasized that one was prepared for a failure of the negotiations. “Because one thing is clear: the integrity of the internal market must be preserved.” She sees fair competition at the center of negotiations. “This question of fair competition in divergent legal systems is the big question to which we need satisfactory answers.”
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney also warned on Irish radio that hopes for a breakthrough should not be “too high”. With “the right approach” the points of controversy could be resolved. “But the inability to solve it to this day means that failure at this stage is quite possible.”
Honda stopped production
Meanwhile, it emerged that Japanese automaker Honda had to temporarily suspend production at its Swindon, England plant due to delivery problems. The reason is that UK ports are overcrowded as many companies tried to replenish their stocks.
According to the British BBC, the ships have already had to be diverted to Rotterdam because the containers could no longer be unloaded at the most important British container port, Felixstowe.
