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Even after a joint dinner between British Prime Minister Johnson and the head of the EU Commission, von der Leyen, a post-Brexit deal is a long way off. At least the negotiations should continue until Sunday.
By Ralph Sina, ARD-Studio Brussels
For a moment, Boris Johnson looked like a schoolboy. When host Ursula von der Leyen showed the British Prime Minister how to complete a photoshoot as a state guest of the EU Commission in times of Covid.
“Keep your distance”, the president of the EU Commission directed her guest a little further away from her. At a suitable distance, the mask can be removed, according to von der Leyen’s instructions. But only for a moment, that is, the moment of the photo opportunity.
Johnson said goodbye to the mask with relief and addressed the photographers with the usual phrases of greeting. But the maskless moment was short-lived. Put the mask back on. Immediately. was von der Leyen’s announcement. Johnson had to acknowledge that there was no possibility of escaping these instructions from the President of the EU Commission.
“A strict regiment”
“It has tight control,” the prime minister muttered. And he admitted defeat with the words: “But also rightly so.” Allons nous, come on, Johnson repeated his host’s French words.
Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson learned French when they were young in Brussels, at the same school. There was enough to speak of a polite little chat on the evening fish menu. There were scallops with steamed turbot. Ursula von der Leyen likes to dine lightly in the evening, according to the committee. Brexit offers a pretty heavy fee.
Because the gaps between negotiating positions are still deep. These are the easiest to overcome when asked whether and how much EU trawlers will be able to catch in British territorial waters in the future. A treaty on future relations between Britain and the EU will not ultimately fail due to quotas for herring, mackerel and cod. Commission experts and diplomats in Brussels agree on this point.
The issue of fair competition
On the contrary, the trenches of negotiation in terms of fair competition are difficult to overcome. Currently, this is not an issue due to the same grant rules and regulations. But British dumping threatens if the legal systems of the EU and future third country Great Britain diverge and environmental, social and consumer protection standards in the UK are much less stringent in the future than in the EU. Then it will no longer be possible to speak of equality of conditions, that is, fair competitive conditions.
“We cannot just say, we will not talk about it,” warns Chancellor Merkel. “We have to have a level playing field not only for today. We also have to have a level playing field for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. And for this we have to make arrangements about how who can react if the other person changes their legal situation.”
The decision must be made before Sunday.
It was not possible to clarify how these agreements should be during the dinner between Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson. But the chief negotiators of both parties, Michel Barnier and David Frost, also present, took with them the order to continue negotiations immediately.
Both sides understand the other’s position. And these positions are far apart, Commission Chairman von der Leyen tweeted shortly before midnight. A decision must be made on whether or not there is a deal at the end of the weekend. In other words: next Sunday. But maybe there is just a new deadline instead of an agreement.
