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Friday October 16, 2020
British Prime Minister Johnson is not following up on his threat to end talks on future economic relations between Britain and the EU. However, Johnson agrees with his compatriots that the negotiations are likely to fail.
In the Brexit dispute, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expects a harsh break without a contract with the European Union on January 1. The EU clearly has no interest in a free trade deal desired by Britain, as with Canada, Johnson said in London. Consequently, a relationship like with Australia is now expected, that is, without a contract. Nonetheless, Johnson left a back door open to negotiate a trade pact with the EU. However, to do this, the EU must change its stance, the prime minister said in a televised statement.
Johnson had called for a deal at the EU summit on October 15, which was unsuccessful. So the Conservative chief considered breaking up the negotiations. He did not announce a crystal clear decision, but did announce preparation for a break without an agreement.
On Thursday, however, the EU offered Johnson a further escalation of negotiations over the next two to three weeks with the aim of reaching a deal by late October or early November. At the same time, however, the EU summit demanded concessions from London, to which the British government reacted disappointed.
No movement on key issues
The negotiations deal with a global trade agreement from 2021. Britain left the international community at the end of January, but remains a member of the EU internal market and the customs union during a transition period until the end of the year. Only then comes the economic breakdown.
Without a contract, there is the risk of tariffs and high trade barriers. The economy on both sides warned of major disruptions. The losses can already be felt. For a long time, there was almost no movement in the negotiations that have been going on for months. The main points of contention from the beginning were the access of EU fishermen to British waters and the demand from the international community for a level playing field for the economy, ie equal environmental, social and subsidy standards. In return, Britain should be able to deliver goods to the EU internal market without customs duties or quantity restrictions.
The third important point for the EU is the arbitration rules in case one of the parties breaches the agreement. This has come to the fore recently because a British law is supposed to nullify parts of the already valid EU exit treaty. These are special rules for the British part of Northern Ireland. Brussels reacted with indignation to the so-called internal market law.
British voters in 2016 voted with a narrow majority in favor of leaving the EU. Johnson won the general election in 2019, among other things, with the announcement that Brexit would actually take place.
