Today he had to leave the negotiating table and leave. Now Boris Johnson is being bullied once again for cowardice. So where is Brexit going now?

BRUSSELS (Aftenposten): Everything was ready for the grand final of Brexit. But like so many other times: Boris Johnson breaks his own promises, the EU is furious and Brexit is postponed.

This week’s EU summit in Brussels was to be the victory or defeat of the Brexit saga. If you had time to approve a deal before the New Year, this was the last chance. And if an agreement was not reached before October 15, Boris Johnson would leave the negotiating table for good.

So the British would rather spend the last weeks until the New Year to minimize the damaging effects of a no-deal. Which, of course, turned the video into an overnight sensation, according to the British prime minister.

Harassed by the EU chief negotiator

– I note that this was “the third unilateral term” that Boris Johnson threatens since this summer, without bringing us closer to a solution.

This was stated by the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, in an unusually bitter tone, when he briefed the ambassadors of the EU countries before the summit.

The Frenchman Barnier received good support from another Frenchman, Emmuael Macron.

“We are not sacrificing French fishermen for a Brexit deal,” he said on the way to the EU summit.

And the British responded in an equally stale tone.

– The EU is delaying the process. His negotiating strategy is, as always, to put things off until the deadline, hoping to “soften us up,” said the British diplomat who reported to the international press.

– It won’t happen this time, he added.

So what the hell is going on now?

1. No Brexit, but total drama.

Brexit was supposed to be the main topic at this summit, but because the parties are still so far apart, Brexit was just a short briefing by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. And the state was: meager progress.

Instead, the meeting began with a new drama when it emerged that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, must be quarantined a second time. On Thursday, one of his employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Boris Johnson May Break This Weekend

According to British diplomats, Boris Johnson may choose to break negotiations this weekend, although now only the British believe in such a scenario.

“Boris Johnson wants to postpone the decision to possibly break the negotiations until he has received a full report from his people in Brussels on what the EU summit has decided on the way forward,” the diplomat said.

3. Struggling with who to listen to

According to British diplomats, Boris Johnson has not yet decided what he wants: break up or continue.

Boris Johnson is also torn between two of his closest advisers. On the one hand, Johnson has special adviser Dominic Cummings, who believes the UK will do well without a deal. On the other hand, you have British Brexit negotiator David Frost, who believes that Britain should get a deal.

4. New EU summits

Already on Thursday night the declaration on Brexit arrived: the main EU negotiator was given the green light to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. This has been the EU’s strategy from the beginning. They will not be accused of throwing the cards and blamed for the British leaving the EU.

Therefore, it is time for a new EU summit in Berlin on November 15. It was supposed to be an EU-China summit. It can quickly be about something else.

5. New negotiation mandate

Several countries have argued that a new negotiating mandate can resolve stalled negotiations. Now there were no signs about it.

Several EU countries have also signaled that if this happens, the British will have to withdraw the controversial “internal market law”, a controversial law that violates the agreement already reached between the EU and the UK last year.

6. Who blinks first?

According to EU sources, there are no longer any technical difficulties stopping an agreement. Now it’s about politics. But so far neither party wanted to show weakness or blink first.

These are the issues that the parties must commit to if an agreement is to be reached:

1. The British must abandon the proposal that violates the withdrawal agreement already signed. The EU can never compromise on this.

2. The EU should remove the requirement that EU fishermen have the full right to fish in British waters.

3. Northern Ireland and the peace agreement can never be broken.

It probably won’t be an early Christmas party for Brexit negotiators this year either.