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Michel Barnier doesn’t leave for London until later that Tuesday. When the new round of negotiations for the Brexit negotiations begins in the British capital in the afternoon, the EU’s chief negotiator will continue to meet in Brussels, including the European Parliament.
Barnier’s schedule shows that the EU wants to coordinate particularly well ahead of this round of Brexit negotiations. Not surprising, because tensions between the EU and the British government are particularly high this time.
The reason for this is not so much Boris Johnson’s threats to interrupt the talks if necessary if there are no results by October 15. An ultimatum on Brexit from the British Prime Minister? What the hell. In Brussels they just shrug their shoulders. Such threatening gestures are part of the business, at least in these negotiations with this partner. In addition, they have also noticed in the EU capital that Johnson’s star is falling, not least because of the mismanagement of the crown crisis at home. The attack on Brussels is always a proven method.
Furthermore, the EU side basically shares their assessment: if there is no reliable first text of an agreement at the EU summit in mid-October, things will be difficult. Finally, the European Parliament must also approve the treaty before the end of the year.
The deadline ends on December 31, during which time all EU rules will continue to apply in the UK even after Brexit, which was legally enforced on January 31, 2020.
However, what is causing great and persistent resentment in Brussels is the reports of British government plans. Consequently, the British want to pass a law (“Internal Market Bill”) on Wednesday that could nullify parts of the exit agreement that the EU concluded with the British last year. It is still unclear if and when the bill, which was initially reported by the Financial Times, will become law. However, the British government itself confirms the necessary adjustments regarding Northern Ireland. This approach would confirm the worst fears with which the EU has accompanied Boris Johnson since his first day in office.
Clear EU response
If he did bid farewell to parts of the exit deal he negotiated, the British prime minister would further undermine the already extremely difficult negotiations on the future free trade agreement.
It might even end it.
The EU’s response is correspondingly clear. On Monday, chief negotiator Barnier reported for the first time on French radio. “Everything that has been signed must be respected,” he told France Inter.
The leader of the left group in the European Parliament, Martin Schirdewan, puts it more bluntly. If Johnson unilaterally changes essential parts of the exit agreement, “the basic requirement for the future agreement would no longer exist,” he told SPIEGEL: “The EU should then discontinue talks with Johnson and Co. until it regains sanity.”
Support for the demand comes from the Social Democrats. “If that comes on Wednesday’s agenda, I think we have to break the negotiations on the trade agreement,” said the head of the trade commission in the European Parliament, Bernd Lange: “It is about the foundations of the partnership and the contractual loyalty “.
Both MEPs are not extras in the Brexit drama, which lends credibility to their threat.
Schirdewan is part of the Brexit group, in which Barnier regularly reports to the European Parliament on the negotiations. As head of the trade committee, Lange, on the other hand, finds himself at a crucial point in the negotiations on a possible future free trade agreement. Ursula von der Leyen apparently takes the reports seriously as well. The head of the commission warned the British via Twitter on Monday to adhere to the agreements.
According to reports in British newspapers, Johnson could break two fundamental agreements with the EU on Northern Ireland with a new law. These are state aid for companies in Northern Ireland and requirements for companies in Northern Ireland when transporting goods to the UK. The exact wording of the law is not yet known in Brussels. Among other things, London had promised in the exit agreement that there would be no strict border between Ireland, a member of the EU, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The background to this is concerns that sectarian fighting could flare up again in Northern Ireland.
In Brussels, one hopes that the British will abstain from the proposed law, after all, after all, the negotiations are tough enough as they are. The “tiger in the tank”, which Johnson demanded for talks with EU leaders in mid-June, was not seen during the summer.
On the contrary: basically little has changed since the conversations about future relationships began. The British insist on full sovereignty, the EU defends its internal market. The conflict is also behind the two most important themes of the upcoming talks: the debate on future fishing rights and the question of the so-called level playing field.
The British want to say goodbye to the previous EU fisheries policy and prefer to renegotiate the fishing quotas of EU fishermen each year for each variety. The EU rejects it.
Much more important is the issue of level playing field. The EU only wants to give the British the widest possible access to its internal market if it is ensured that its future rules on environmental protection, labor and social standards and state aid remain largely in line with those of the EU.
The British think, broadly speaking, that Brexit would be meaningless if they remained subject to EU rules in the future.
We can safely rule out that there will be a breakthrough this week. But time is of the essence. Even if no one wants to openly bypass Chief Negotiator Barnier, it is clear that the time for Commission Chief von der Leyen and Chancellor Angela Merkel should come slowly.
At the end of the exit agreement, Jean-Claude Juncker, the then head of the commission, had also joined the talks. And Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. It is precisely at this level that Johnson wants to re-raise the talks, with the heads of state and government.
On Monday night he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, among other things, about the course of the Brexit negotiations.
