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IIn the dispute over the Brexit trade pact, the European Union and Britain give each other a final deadline for Sunday night. A three-hour conversation between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday night in Brussels did not produce a breakthrough. Rather, the two sides continued to notice big differences. However, the negotiating teams should meet immediately and try to resolve the trouble spots within four days.
British government circles said it was not yet clear whether a deal would be reached. Prime Minister Johnson wants to leave no stone unturned to test forms of a possible deal. The EU Commission stated: “We clearly understand the position of others. They stay away. “
Johnson and von der Leyen had agreed to have a dinner in Brussels to discuss and, if possible, resolve the remaining disputed points in the negotiations on a trade deal for the time after the end of the Brexit transition phase. It is about fishing, fair competition and the question of the enforceability of agreements.
It was the third conversation between the two since EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British colleague David Frost announced last Friday that their negotiating mandate had reached a dead end. After two phone calls had not been as successful, the personal meeting should now give a boost to the negotiations.
The contract must be in force before December 31
Time is running out. This Thursday and Friday, the heads of state and government of the EU will meet for their last summit of the year. The contract should be in force before December 31, because then the transition phase of Brexit will expire. If an agreement is reached, it should be ratified in the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the EU. As it stands, at least one vote on the trade pact is also expected in the British Parliament.
Britain left the EU at the end of January, but everything will remain the same until the turn of the year. Negotiations will take place later. Without a contract, tariffs and other trade barriers have threatened since January 1. It is feared that this could lead to long traffic jams on the English side of the English Channel and empty shelves in supermarkets. The economy expects great turmoil.
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The remaining three issues, fisheries, fair competition and the issue of the enforceability of agreements, have been the same for months.
There was at least one progress on Tuesday: the British government and the EU Commission agreed on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit Agreement. This largely eliminates the major concern in the event of a so-called “no-deal.” The protocol aims to ensure that there is no firm border between British Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU. In this case, a worsening of the conflict was expected in the region of the former civil war.
London had agreed to remove or change controversial passages in a bill that had caused much resentment in Brussels. Under London’s will, the Single Market Act was supposed to nullify the provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol and thus violate international law.
