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Original title: The deadline for the Brexit negotiations has been set, but a solution has not yet been found.
Reporter | Sean
There are only 20 days left until the end of the Brexit transition period. To break the deadlock in negotiations that has lasted for almost a year, the UK and the EU decided to cut the mess.
British Prime Minister Johnson went to Brussels on December 9 to meet with the President of the European Commission, Von der Lein, and decided to limit the deadline for Brexit negotiations to this Sunday (13). At that point, the two parties will make a “decided decision” about the future relationship. If they cannot reach a negotiated agreement, they can only leave the EU without an agreement.
The same day, Johnson and von der Lein had a three-hour meeting without issuing a joint statement, and Johnson returned to London overnight. The British “Financial Times” noted that from these details, it can be judged that the two sides had a “violent conflict” during the talks.
After the talks, Von der Lein said that after this “frank” dialogue, the two sides have a clear understanding of each other’s positions, but are still “very far apart”. She will brief EU leaders on the results of the talks at the special European Commission summit on the 10th. The source said the two-day summit is not expected to make any decisions on Brexit negotiations.
A member of Johnson’s team revealed that the talks made little or no progress. Another EU source said the two sides still believe an agreement is possible.
The differences in the positions of the two parties remain difficult to bridge: the EU wants to ensure that Brexit does not cause damage to the single market, and the UK wants to fully regain its autonomy in formulating policies and regulations.
Before dining with Von der Lein, Johnson said on Twitter that the UK will flourish as an independent country regardless of whether the negotiations are successful or not. According to the British “Guardian”, Johnson clearly told von der Lein and Michel Barnier, the main EU negotiator in charge of Brexit, that he could not accept the part of the agreement that linked the UK and EU rules. The EU hopes that the UK will be able to follow the EU rules in terms of financial aid, labor and environmental regulations, in order to maintain a level playing field.
Negotiations for the next few days will take place in Brussels. An EU diplomat said Britain and the EU have entered the quick negotiation stage, but the brakes and steering wheel are locked and it is difficult to predict what will happen to the situation before Sunday.
The House of Commons is scheduled to be suspended for Christmas starting December 21. But the Speaker of the House of Commons (Lindsay Hoyle) said that if necessary, the suspension date can be postponed until Christmas Eve to vote on the Brexit bill in time.
A level playing field and fishing rights remain the biggest differences between the two parties. Although the UK has previously offered to make concessions on fishing rights and to reach an access agreement with the European Union as a transitional measure after Brexit, it is still difficult for the two parties to agree on the specific content of the agreement.
Before going to Brussels on the 9th, Johnson met with members of the House of Commons to clarify his negotiating “bottom line”, the core of which is British sovereignty and legislative freedom.
Johnson said the European Union hopes to make Britain the only sovereign country in the world that does not have absolute control over its own waters. He also accused Brussels of seeking the right to receive punishment and countermeasures if the British side deviated from EU regulations. Johnson was referring to the “ratchet clause” proposed by the European Union, which obliges both parties to maintain similar environmental and labor regulations. If either party breaks the rules of fair competition, it will be reduced to entering the market.
David Frost, the main representative of the Brexit negotiations, previously agreed that existing regulations and standards related to fair competition will not be lowered, but refused to keep pace with the EU standards updates.
Interestingly, the dinner menu in Brussels on the 9th is based on seafood, the starter is scallops and the main dish is flounder with mashed potatoes. Both are the main catches in British waters. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK scallop exports to the EU will be subject to a 20% tariff.
German Chancellor Merkel warned on the 9th that if Britain and Europe cannot find a way to minimize the risk of unfair competition, the EU will accept the result of the lack of agreement. He stressed that it is important to ensure the integrity of the EU single market.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin also told his parliament on the 9th that the negotiations were on the brink of collapse. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney believes that the two sides can only reach some basic agreements in the end, but the immediate obstacles are difficult to overcome.
After December 31, 2020, the UK’s Northern Ireland region will remain in the EU single market and comply with EU regulations to avoid a ‘hard border’ between Northern Ireland and Ireland, a member of the EU, which would endanger the stability of the island of Ireland.
With little time, the EU has already started to prepare for the worst. An EU official revealed that the EU could introduce a series of emergency measures in the near future to prevent the breakdown of negotiations and cause chaos, such as ensuring that sea, land and air transport across the Strait will continue to operate afterwards. from January 1 of next year, and extend the validity period of the aviation safety certificate issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency. , To ensure that some British-made parts can continue to be used in EU aircraft. But the period of validity of these measures can only be 6 months.
The EU also plans to establish a legal framework to maintain the fishing rights exchange mechanism within 12 months after Brexit, until the two parties reach a fisheries agreement. In addition, the EU is preparing to spend € 5 billion to help the countries and industries most affected by Brexit to overcome difficulties.
But Barnier has always refused to announce the plan to EU member states, fearing it will have a negative impact on the negotiations.
