[ad_1]
The Brexit talks in Brussels between Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, began with a crown warning. “Keep your distance!” The German said as the two introduced themselves to the assembled press.
They only removed their masks briefly for one photo, then von der Leyen made it clear to his guest that he had to put the mouth and nose protection back on. “Command a tight regiment,” Johnson whispered, adding: “But rightly so.”
Johnson had come to Brussels to have dinner with the Commission President to discuss pending issues in the Brexit trade pact negotiations. Two phone calls had previously not had the desired effect.
“No prime minister of this country should accept that.”
Britain left the EU at the end of January. The contract should be in force before December 31, because then the transition phase of Brexit will expire. Despite months of negotiations, no progress has yet been made. The main points of contention remain a fair playing field, scrutiny of a future deal and the fishing rights of EU fishers in UK waters.
“A good deal is still possible,” Johnson said before leaving London. But he also hardened the tone: The EU insists on some positions that “no prime minister of this country should accept,” Johnson said Wednesday in London Parliament. Much is still possible, but your country will “flourish mightily” in one way or another.
In the morning, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was cautious about the chances of success of the talks: “There is still the possibility of an agreement, we continue to work on it,” she said in the Bundestag. However, if conditions on the British side are not acceptable, the EU is also prepared to take a “path without a withdrawal agreement”.
Without an agreement, customs duties would be imposed on mutual trade by the end of the year. Trade associations expect not only massive border jams in delivery traffic, but also billions in additional costs and lost revenue.
After all: before the peak meeting in Brussels, both sides had settled a major point of dispute over Northern Ireland on Tuesday. Consequently, London has decided not to make unilateral changes to the Brexit agreement that is already in force in this area. EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic described this as a possible “positive boost” for trade negotiations.
If an agreement is reached, it should be ratified in the European Parliament. But there is hardly time for that, as SPD Brexit expert Bernd Lange put it. Parliament does not want provisional application without ratification. That would be “a declaration of war”, said the MEP. It is not clear how this dilemma will be resolved.
Meanwhile, the UK has signed an agreement with Canada on future trade relations after the end of the Brexit transition period. “This is big business for the global UK. He is securing £ 20bn worth of trade with a friend and partner who shares our clear commitment to free trade, ”said Finance Secretary Liz Truss.
