British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke harshly on Sunday ahead of a crucial round of post-Brexit trade talks with the European Union, saying the UK could drop the talks in a few weeks and insisting that a no-deal exit would be a ” good result for the UK. “
With talks stalled, Johnson said an agreement would only be possible if EU negotiators are prepared to “rethink their current positions.” The EU, in turn, accuses Great Britain of not negotiating seriously.
Britain left the now 27-nation EU on Jan.31, three and a half years after the country narrowly voted to end more than four decades of membership. This political exit will be followed by an economic breakdown when an 11-month transition period ends on December 31 and the UK leaves the single market and the EU customs union.
Without a deal, the New Year will bring tariffs and other economic barriers between the UK and the bloc, its biggest trading partner. Johnson said the country would “prosper tremendously” even if Britain had “a trade deal with the EU like Australia’s,” the UK government’s preferred description of a no-deal Brexit.
British chief negotiator David Frost and his counterpart Michel Barnier will meet in London from Tuesday for the eighth round of negotiations. The key points are the access of European vessels to UK fishing waters and state aid to industries.
The EU is determined to ensure a “level playing field” for competition so that British companies cannot undermine the bloc’s environmental or labor standards or inject public money into UK industries.
Britain accuses the bloc of making demands that it has not imposed on other countries with which it has free trade agreements, such as Canada.
Frost told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that Britain “was not going to compromise the fundamentals of having control over our own laws.” “We are not going to accept a level playing field provisions that lock us into the way the EU does things,” he said.
The EU says an agreement must be reached before November to allow time for parliamentary approval and legal investigation before the transition period expires.
Johnson gave an even shorter deadline, saying a deal had to be sealed by an EU summit scheduled for October 15.
“If we can’t agree by then, then I don’t see that there is a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept it and move on,” he said.
Barnier said last week that he was “concerned and disappointed” by the lack of progress and said the UK had not “engaged constructively”.
Without an agreement, British transport companies have warned that there could be jams at ports and that the supply of key products in Britain could be “severely interrupted” from 1 January.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday the talks were “not going well” and dismissed British attempts to drive a wedge between EU nations on issues such as fishing.
Le Drian said the 27 nations remained united.
“We would prefer an agreement, but an agreement on the basis of our mandate,” he told France Inter radio. “There is room for action, but you need to take on the whole package, including the fishing package, to avoid a ‘no deal.’ (AP) HMB
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