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Despite the intensification of the talks, differences persist between the British, who want absolute freedom on the trade front, and the countries of the Union eager to protect their vast single market.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, decided this Sunday to continue post-Brexit trade negotiations, despite the difficulties, with the aim of avoiding a separation without an agreement, whose economic consequences will be dire.
“Despite the fatigue after almost a year of negotiations, despite the deadlines being exceeded several times, we believe that moving forward at this stage is a responsible matter,” the two officials said in a joint statement after a phone call. “That is why our negotiators asked us to continue the discussions and see if it is possible to reach an agreement in this last stage.”
However, Johnson confirmed shortly after that the failure of the negotiations remains the “most likely” scenario, while in previous days the course remained negative, as Johnson urged his citizens to “prepare for the failure of the negotiations with the European Union”.
Before making this phone call, British chief negotiator David Frost met with his European counterpart Michel Barnier on Sunday morning at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, following recent negotiations that dragged on until Saturday night.
The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Bonn, warned that the extension of the talks again “will not exceed a maximum of a few days. Now we are in overtime.”
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin, whose country is in the front line in the event of a no-deal exit, confirmed on the BBC that he expected “very much” to reach an agreement. “The fact that the negotiations took place late into the night is in itself an important indicator,” he added.
Despite the intensification of the talks, differences persist between the British, who want absolute freedom on a commercial level, and the countries of the Union eager to protect their vast single market.
Royal Navy
In an indication of the high level of tension, the British Ministry of Defense announced that the vessels belonging to the Royal Navy are in a state of readiness to protect the national fishing areas, since they can register tensions in case of not reaching an agreement .
Great Britain, which formally withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020, will leave the European single market and customs union definitively before December 31.
Failure to comply with an agreement requires that the rules of the World Trade Organization govern trade between Great Britain and the European Union, with the imposition of customs duties or quotas, which may constitute a new shock to the economy, which already is suffering the consequences of “Covid-19”.
Negotiations are stalled over three issues: European fishermen’s access to British waters, how to resolve differences in a future agreement and the guarantees that the European Union requires from London, in terms of competition in exchange for free access to their markets .
This comes despite the fact that Brussels and London announced an agreement on all “Brexit” issues, specifically the protocol on Northern Ireland, last Tuesday.
‘Little hope’
The European Union is willing to give London access to the European market without customs duties or quotas, but in return wants to ensure that the UK does not resort to flooding markets away from European environmental, social and tax standards or those related to official aid.
If that happens, the European Union wants to be able to take rapid response measures such as imposing customs duties without having to wait for the dispute to be resolved within the framework of normal arbitration procedures, in an effort to protect European companies. However, London rejects it outright.
A European source confirmed that “the European Union regards the protection of the single market as a red line. What we have proposed to the United Kingdom respects British sovereignty and may form the basis of an agreement.”
During a dinner they met on Wednesday night in Brussels, they again recognized that there were “very divergent” positions. However, they gave the talks three more days, hoping to reach an agreement before making a “final decision” on Sunday.
Von der Leyen and Johnson have been trying for days to pull the talks out of the dead end.
In practice, and anticipating the lack of agreement, the European Commission has offered emergency measures aimed at preserving the circulation of land and air transport for a period of six months between the two parties, provided that London does the same.
The measures also aim to ensure mutual access to the fishing grounds of both parties’ vessels in 2021.
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