Johnson: There is a high probability that a UK trade deal with the EU will not be reached

“Now there is a good chance … that we have a solution that is much more like Australia’s relations with the EU than Canada’s,” he said.

The UK withdrew from the European Union on January 30 and completed nearly 50 years of integration with its closest neighbor and largest trading partner.

Negotiators from the UK and the EU had three more days on Wednesday to agree on future trade relations. The decision on whether this process should continue must be made on Sunday.

Whatever the turn, Britain will leave the single market and the EU customs union on December 31. Without a trade agreement, as in the case of Australia, the United Kingdom and the EU will have to comply with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which means tariffs and quotas.

Johnson’s latest remarks came after the prime minister briefed cabinet on his talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a table in Brussels on Wednesday.

“They very much agreed with me that the contract on the table at the moment is not really appropriate in the UK,” Johnson said.

He accused Brussels of “punishing” Britain if it did not comply with the new EU rules, even though such a requirement had clearly been abandoned in the past.

B. Johnson said that those “equivalence” rules, which are supposed to guarantee fair competition, “are not a sensible way to move forward” and that they have no counterparts in trade agreements with other countries.

“This is a way to keep the UK attached to the EU regulatory orbit,” the prime minister said.

These efforts and proposals to maintain EU fishermen’s access to British fisheries are not in line with the UK’s status as a sovereign state, Johnson said.

But the prime minister said Britain has not yet decided to abandon the talks entirely.

“It just came to our attention then. I will go to Brussels, Paris, Berlin, anywhere to try to clarify this and come to an agreement,” he said.

“We are not stalling the negotiations, we are continuing to negotiate, but considering our situation, I really think it is vital that everyone prepare now for this Australian opportunity,” Johnson added.