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Shortly before further talks on the future relationship between Britain and the EU, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson once again picked up the pace and threatened a breakdown if there was no deal in mid-October. The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is concerned about the British strategy and called on the Johnson administration to keep its Brexit commitments.
“Everything that has been signed must be respected,” Barnier said. “The negotiations are difficult because the British want the best of both worlds.” But he still believes that it is possible to reach an agreement on the particularly contentious issue of fishing rights.
Is Johnson breaking the deal with Northern Ireland?
Barnier declined to comment on media reports that the British government wants to reopen crucial parts of the deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland issue. He only emphasized that the agreement was “the condition for a united and functional economy” on the Irish island and that it would guarantee “the integrity of the EU internal market”.
According to the “Financial Times”, the new legislation will be made public on Wednesday and will partially invalidate the agreement with the EU that Johnson himself signed in October 2019. The details of Northern Ireland in particular were only decided after long and arduous negotiations. (you can find more about this here).
British Environment Minister George Eustice tried to appease him. These are just “legal ambiguities” that need to be cleared up, Eustice told Sky News.
EU diplomats warned the UK against abandoning the Brexit deal. This would undermine the country’s international reputation, a diplomat told the Reuters news agency. It would be “a desperate and ultimately self-destructive strategy.” Another diplomat said it was difficult to imagine the European Union signing a treaty with a country that did not meet its contractual obligations.
After the August round of negotiations, which had not made significant progress, Barnier had warned of failure. For its part, Britain accused the EU of making the talks “unnecessarily” difficult.
Britain left the EU in January. However, until the end of the year there is still a transitional phase in which future relationships need to be clarified, for example in the field of trade. If no agreement is reached, there is a risk of an unregulated exit. In such a case, experts warn of potentially serious financial consequences for both parties.
