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After the negotiations stalled, Johnson said an agreement was only possible if EU negotiators were ready to “rethink their current positions.”
The EU, for its part, accuses Great Britain of not negotiating seriously.
Britain officially left the EU in January, nearly four years after a landmark referendum to end the UK’s nearly 50 years of membership in the European Union.
But until the end of this year, the UK is bound by the bloc’s rules until both sides try to agree on future relations.
There is little time left for both parties to reach an agreement, as the legal instruments have yet to be examined by the Member States and ratified by the European Parliament.
Brexit without a contract?
The stalemate has raised fears that Brexit could take place after December 31 without a deal, in which case most trade would be regulated by the rules and tariffs of the World Trade Organization (WTO). After the New Year, tariffs and other economic barriers would emerge between the UK and the EU.
Johnson said his country would “prosper” even if it had a trade deal with the EU “as Australia has done.” This is what the UK government calls no-contract Brexit.
UK Chief Negotiator David Frost and EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier will start their eighth round in London on Tuesday.
Barnier said last week that he was “concerned and frustrated” by the lack of progress and said the UK was not constructive.
Negotiations have stalled on a number of issues, including state aid to the industry and the access of EU vessels to fishing in UK waters.
The EU is committed to ensuring a “level playing field” so that British companies cannot undermine the bloc’s environmental or labor standards and so that public money cannot be injected into UK industry.
Britain accuses the bloc of imposing requirements that do not apply to other countries with which it has signed free trade agreements, such as Canada.
Frost said in a rare interview with the Mail on Sunday on Saturday that Britain “has no intention of compromising its principles – the ability to control its laws.”
The border problem
Another sign that there may be trouble awaiting was the Financial Times announcement that the Johnson administration is planning legislation to reduce existing commitments on an open border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. This border guarantee was an important part of last year’s legally binding “divorce” deal between Britain and the bloc.
Proponents of Brexit in Britain are very unhappy with the deal as it means that Northern Ireland must remain subject to some EU rules. However, any move to undermine it would anger the EU and jeopardize trade negotiations.
“It would be a very reckless way to continue,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney wrote on Twitter.
The British government says it has made a “fair” effort to implement the agreed border provisions, but is “considering backup options if this is not achieved.”
“Not going well”
The EU says the trade must be agreed before November so there is time to complete all approval procedures before the end of the transition period.
Johnson must specify an even shorter deadline in his speech Monday. According to him, an agreement must be reached before the EU summit scheduled for October 15.
“If we can’t reach an agreement by then, I don’t think we will have a free trade agreement, and we should both agree and move on,” he said in remarks made ahead of time by his office.
British transport companies warn that without an agreement from 1 January, congestion could form in ports and the supply of important goods in Britain could be “severely disrupted”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday that the talks were “not going well” and rejected British attempts to impose a gap between EU members on issues such as fisheries. According to J.-Y. Le Driano, the 27 members of the bloc remain united.
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