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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will hold emergency talks as negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal reach their limits.
Talks between Britain and the European Union stalled last night after a week of negotiations in London, with mounting pressure on Brussels to implement no-deal contingency plans.
The two main negotiators, Michel Barnier and David Frost, issued a joint statement in which they said that it was clear that no agreement could be reached at this time, with the two sides divided on three issues that have long impeded progress. .
“After a week of intense negotiations in London, the two main negotiators agreed today that the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on the level playing field, governance and fisheries,” the joint statement read .
“On this basis, they agreed to pause to brief their directors on the status of the negotiations.”
Ms. Von der Leyen will hold a telephone conversation with Mr. Johnson on Saturday “to discuss the situation,” the statement added.
With only a few weeks until the end of Britain’s transitional period, the failure to make a breakthrough raises the possibility of an abrupt shift in predetermined trade terms, including tariffs on sales to Britain, a result that will be He predicts it will cause widespread disruption and devastate some Irish exporters.
Lack of trust
In Dublin, government sources said that while an agreement was possible, the two sides remained significantly separate on outstanding issues. However, it is understood that important concessions from both parties that could lead to an agreement were always called by the prime minister and the chairman of the commission, in consultation with the member states.
One source suggested that large gaps remained between the two sides, but could be bridged. The Irish analysis is that the outcome of the talks depends significantly on whether Johnson can sell a compromise deal to Tory MPs as “regain control”, the slogan of the Brexit campaign.
Sources emphasized the technical difficulties in reaching agreement on a document that was 800 pages long and involved multiple compromises.
But another government source in Dublin was more pessimistic, saying the biggest problem was the lack of trust between the two parties.
The collapse follows a tense week in which EU member states, including France and the Netherlands, warned Barnier not to go beyond his term in offering Britain to close a deal, while the Frenchman warned that he might need more flexibility to reach an agreement. To be reached.
Clauses that violate the treaties
Barnier warned Frost this week that a breakthrough was needed by Friday, or there could be no guarantee that a deal would be in effect on January 1, as it must be ratified by parliaments on both sides in a process that requires more. available time.
Earlier on Friday, the EU side warned that a deal would be conditional on Britain’s full implementation of the withdrawal agreement, including provisions for Northern Ireland designed to avoid a hard border.
It comes after a British government spokesperson said Johnson still intended to reintroduce the treaty breach clauses of the UK Internal Market Act that were scrapped by the House of Lords.
The clauses would allow British ministers to violate the Brexit withdrawal agreement by unilaterally deciding how to implement parts of the Northern Ireland protocol.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the British government will present a tax bill next week that is expected to include clauses allowing British ministers to determine which goods moving from Britain to the North should be considered at risk of entering the single market. from the EU and are subject to fees.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said this week that a deal would not be possible if the British government went ahead with that plan, while European Council President Charles Michel described it as a matter of “state of affairs. right”. .
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