[ad_1]
The key issue of the countdown deadline remains stalled
According to the British “Guardian” report, it is less than 7 weeks before the UK withdraws from the single market and the EU customs union. In the trade agreement negotiations that ended last week, the two sides still had big differences in their negotiating positions. The unresolved issues continue to provide EU fishing fleets with permission to enter British waters, trade rules for fair competition, and mechanisms to resolve future disputes.
Some experts noted that in order to reach a deal, the EU must abandon the requirement to allow European fishermen to enter British waters permanently and extensively, while London must assure Brussels that the UK will compete fairly with the EU. on environmental, health and government assistance issues.
EU leaders will hold a video conference this Thursday (19) to discuss the epidemic. This time the deadline for the two parties to reach an agreement is considered, but the possibility of reaching a global agreement before that date seems increasingly small.
David Frost, the main representative of the UK’s “Brexit” negotiations, said the UK hopes to reach a comprehensive deal with the EU. But he also stressed that there is the possibility of failed negotiations. An anonymous senior EU official warned Monday that it is too late to reach a “Brexit” trade deal.
Heroic “retreat” at a critical moment
“The ship breaks and it rains and it rains”! According to the report, after experiencing internal clashes between government officials and leaving office, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson originally planned to “revitalize the government” this week and announce a series of important policies. However, this “ambition” was interrupted by the “Chinese communist virus” (Wuhan New Coronary Pneumonia, COVID-19). A few days ago, Johnson had to be isolated again due to exposure to a confirmed case of new coronary pneumonia.
The British International Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and other media lamented on Monday (16) that the moment of the quarantine “could not be worse”: the epidemic still continues and the trade negotiations of the “Brexit” between the United Kingdom and the EU have entered a critical stage. The UK is hoping Johnson made an “important decision”.
According to reports from the Financial Times and the BBC, the Johnson government has just experienced a turbulent week. His senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, and the director of communications, Lee Cain, have resigned due to infighting. The British Prime Minister has been working hard to stabilize the government. Johnson assured the main “subsidy” of the Conservative Party that he will regain control of the situation and that he will use this week to restart the government, including important speeches on policies such as the “green economy”. Johnson and the Northern Study Group made up of MPs from the Conservative Party were scheduled to meet Monday. In addition, Johnson plans to host important meetings in response to the new corona pneumonia epidemic and discuss the spending review with Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
Furthermore, the new round of lockdown measures implemented by England and England due to the “Chinese Communist virus” epidemic will expire on December 2. What to do after this is what the Johnson administration urgently needs to discuss. According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, in the last 24 hours, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the United Kingdom has exceeded 1.37 million and the cumulative number of deaths has exceeded 52,000. British media believe that due to the implementation of lockdown measures, the rebound in the UK epidemic has tended to slow down recently.
Maybe before the end of the year
A high-level EU diplomat said that the envoys from the 27 EU countries held a regular meeting on the 11th, which does not involve the progress of the negotiations, and is scheduled to hear reports when they meet on the 18th. diplomat said: “The EU cannot put schedules above priority interests. We must continue negotiations as necessary and prepare all possible scenarios at any given time.”
Agence France-Presse pointed out that December 31 is the day the transition period for British “Brexit” ends. Before that, London and Brussels must reach a trade agreement to manage bilateral trade relations, otherwise they will face economic chaos. The European Parliament will hold its last meeting this year on December 16. The European Union and the United Kingdom must reach an agreement before that date so that the European Parliament can consider and approve this agreement at the last meeting.
“But this agreement must reflect the fact that we will withdraw from the European Union and regain control of our fisheries,” Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told Sky News.
According to a source who attended a closed-door meeting between Barkley and EU diplomats last Wednesday (11), Barkley said at the meeting that he was only concerned about fishing. The diplomat said: “Fishing is now a problem that must be solved. Other problems can be solved more or less.”
Some media analysis pointed out that although the fishing industry only contributed 0.03% of the UK’s economic output in 2019, it is an emotional issue because many Brexiters believe it is a symbol of the recovery of sovereignty after Brexit.
Under an emergency plan by the European Union, the European Parliament’s vote on the Brexit trade deal can be postponed until December 28, when the Brexit transition period will end and there will only be three days left.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said: “I think the British government is very clear about what it takes to reach an agreement this week. The real question is whether the political will is enough to reach an agreement. I believe that (we will reach) this is my prediction for some time, but if the negotiation fails, I will not be surprised. “
