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Fight for Brexit trade pact: Johnson arrives in Brussels
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There is a problem with Brexit
The end of the year is approaching and with it the end of Britain as a member of the European Union. How it will proceed is still open, but the UK government continues to believe in the benefits of exiting.
Deal or no deal? Almost four weeks before the end of the Brexit transition phase, there is still no answer. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now wants to travel to Brussels to personally negotiate with Ursula von der Leyen.
IIn the dispute over the Brexit trade pact, a personal meeting at the highest level is supposed to bring the breakthrough. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels in the next few days to clear up the toughest issues with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission announced Monday evening after the Johnson’s phone call with von der Leyen. 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.
In view of the stalled negotiations, the British government has issued an urgent warning against the failure of the talks. “The negotiations are at exactly the same point as on Friday,” government circles in London said Monday night. “We have not made any tangible progress.” Although London does not consider the negotiations to be over, there is “every chance” that they will fail.
The negotiations were “very complicated,” said a senior government official in London. Therefore, a direct personal conversation between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is now necessary.
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.”
Such is the state of the negotiations
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.
