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meThe president of the U-Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, want to clarify their “important differences of opinion” on the future relations in a personal meeting. Johnson will come to Brussels for this “in the next few days,” the two announced after a phone call Monday night. To do this, your negotiators must list all the questions still in dispute. They also failed to make a breakthrough on Sunday and Monday. In negotiating circles it was said that a deal had to be ready by Wednesday at the latest. This means that the drama over the deal is spreading again. It should already be ratified and effective on January 1.
“The conditions for an agreement have not yet been met due to differences on key points,” said a joint statement issued by the Commission. “We have asked our chief negotiators to prepare a summary of the remaining differences so that they can be discussed personally in the coming days.” A spokesman for the EU Commission confirmed that Johnson is expected to be in Brussels in the next few days.
Without agreement, there are tariffs and other obstacles
In the morning, EU negotiator Michel Barnier made clear during internal briefings that there had been little progress in the most recent round of negotiations, even in the most recent round of negotiations, which began on Sunday. The three main points are: EU fishermen’s access to UK waters, a fair playing field and rules to penalize breaches of the agreement.
Time pressure is enormous just four weeks before the end of the Brexit transition phase. At the end of the year, Britain also leaves the internal market and the customs union after leaving the EU. Without a trade agreement, there are tariffs and other trade barriers.
Despite the extensive stalemate in negotiations, the EU side insisted on the possibility of a deal on Monday. The British side was ready to continue talking before the phone call. The federal government affirmed that there must be a willingness to compromise on both sides. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) emphasized that it was clear within the EU that there would be no agreement at any price. “But we definitely want to reach an agreement.”
The EU has offered the UK free trade in goods without tariffs or quantity restrictions. In return, however, it demands the same environmental or social standards and subsidy rules. This is behind the point of fair competitive conditions – in bargaining jargon, “level playing field.” Britain would like to have as few EU guidelines as possible.
The second controversial issue of fisheries is particularly important to coastal states, especially France. Negotiators are haggling over the amounts that EU fishermen can catch in UK waters. The third point, “the application of the treaty”, is also important for the EU because of a move by the Johnson government that sparked outrage in Brussels: a planned violation of the EU exit agreement that is already in force. Johnson wanted to use the so-called Internal Market Law to undermine parts of the EU withdrawal agreement that was already in place.
Here, however, the British government indicated that it is willing to give in on Monday. It is willing to remove or deactivate the controversial clauses of the bill. The prerequisite is an agreement in the joint committee that is responsible for the implementation of the Northern Ireland provisions of the Withdrawal Treaty. “The talks are ongoing and final decisions are expected in the coming days,” the government said.
The controversial clauses had been removed by the second chamber of the British Parliament, the House of Lords, during the legislative process. The British government had announced that he would be reinstated in the House of Commons on Monday. The EU saw this as an affront. The latest signals from London are likely to have politically defused this conflict.
