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From: TT
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Photo: Olivier Hoslet
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the Brussels summit.
Boris Johnson is in Brussels when the future after Brexit will be decided at a dinner at the European Commission.
An agreement is far from a fact.
Almost exactly at 8pm on Wednesday night, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels.
Without comment, the duo posed for the photographers before entering the dinner, which could be absolutely decisive for the relations that will apply between the EU and the United Kingdom from January 1.
At stake is the question of whether there will be a comprehensive trade and cooperation agreement or whether economic relations will continue for the time being in accordance with WTO rules, with all kinds of tariffs and quotas.
“Hard Brexit”
Following an agreement on Tuesday on how the practical problems of the border in Northern Ireland will be handled in the future, optimism prevailed over good humor.
Still he warned that everything can still land in what is called a “hard Brexit”, without an agreement between London and Brussels.
In front of the lower house of the British Parliament, Johnson himself has continued to call the EU’s demands too harsh.
“Such conditions would not be acceptable to any prime minister of this country,” Johnson said before leaving for Brussels, referring both to fishing rights and the question of whether British rules should be compatible with those of the EU.
Three main issues
At the same time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pointed out that the EU does not agree with anything.
“If there are conditions from the British side that we cannot accept, we are ready to continue on the track without an agreement,” Merkel told the German Bundestag, according to the Reuters news agency.
Disagreement on three issues has long been what prevented an agreement. It is about who should be allowed to fish and how much in British waters, how to ensure EU and UK companies can compete on a level playing field and how and where future disputes should be resolved.
Do you try a little more?
Wednesday night dinner is believed to have three different variations:
Most likely, von der Leyen and Johnson agree that it is worth trying a bit more bargaining after all, aided by new compromises or interpretations of what is required. So chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost may have one last chance in the days and weekends to come.
Another alternative is for the parties to declare completely loud that the disagreement is too great. In that case, the introduction of various emergency measures is expected to alleviate the situation, for example, obtaining permits for air traffic. After that, it will likely be a long time until 2021 before negotiations on limited deals can begin.
It is less likely that von der Leyen and Johnson can already shake hands on a preliminary agreement, although of course it is not impossible.
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