Brexit is very likely to end without an EU deal – E24

The BBC reports.

“Now is the time for businesses and the public to prepare for that outcome, even if negotiations continue,” Boris Johnson said Thursday night, according to the news channel.

He adds that the negotiations are still far from over.

Johnson has been in talks with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in recent days, and the negotiations will run until Sunday.

British expert Erik Mustad is not optimistic on behalf of the parties that have been trying for months to reach an agreement.

– Today seems darker than yesterday, he tells VG.

Big disagreement

According to Johnson, the EU requires the UK to adhere too closely to its legislation. Furthermore, it says that the EU’s proposal for a deal means that the UK is forced to be a “twin” of the EU, writes the BBC.

– There is a strong possibility that we will get a solution that is much more similar to Australia’s relationship with the EU than Canada’s relationship with the EU, Johnson says after Thursday’s negotiations.

Australia is much more tied to the single market than Canada, which has an agreement with the EU that took six years to negotiate.

– Australia does not have free access to the internal market, but trades in different ways with the internal market. I think it is too late to negotiate a deal on the Australian model, says Erik Mustad.

Mustad believes that one of the reasons the EU is making tough demands on the UK is that the deal between the Brexit country and the EU may set a precedent.

– Everything the EU does now sets a precedent for the future. If the EU has made too many concessions to the UK and there are other outlets in the future, countries can hope to have adapted schemes, says Mustad.

– The EU fears that parts of its regulations will be excluded in agreements with other exit countries.

Extensive negotiations

The British left the EU on January 31, 2020, but there is still no agreement on how the UK and the EU will act and cooperate together in the future. December 31 is set as the deadline for negotiations.

If it doesn’t happen before the turn of the year, the result will be what some call “hard Brexit,” which can be chaotic. The negotiations are described as very extensive.

The goal is to reach an agreement before the deadline, including how you will negotiate together, and who will be allowed to fish in British waters are important issues.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represents the leaders of the 27 EU member states. She and Johnson began negotiations Wednesday night, and the parties announced later that night that they had not reached an agreement.

On Thursday night, there is still a great distance between the parties and the clock ticks towards the deadline set for Sunday.