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The British Prime Minister is pushing. Johnson gives the EU until mid-October to negotiate a treaty on future relations with the UK.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is threatening a hard Brexit again.
(dpa / Bloomberg / Reuters)
Shortly before the next round of talks on a Brexit follow-up deal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for the EU to be quicker and more accommodating. An agreement had to be reached in mid-October so that it could still be ratified. Otherwise, there would be no free trade agreement between Britain and the European Union, Johnson announced Sunday night in London.
If there is no deal, London will be based on a deal with the EU based on the Australian model, Johnson said. So far, the EU has only one framework agreement with Australia, which, among other things, concerns technical obstacles. In general, trade between Europe and Australia is conducted on the basis of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Transferred to Britain, such a solution would be the dreaded no-deal Brexit.
Top British negotiator David Frost was even sharper in tone on Sunday: He fully agreed with Johnson that Britain had nothing to fear from a no-deal Brexit, he told the Mail on Sunday. “I don’t think we’re scared of that in any way,” Frost said in an interview.
Resilient negotiations
Negotiations between the UK and Brussels, which will resume this week in London, remain firm. The Bloomberg news agency learned from EU diplomatic circles that informal consultations in the run-up to the talks had not resulted in a change of positions. Meanwhile, a spokesperson confirmed that the UK government is “considering alternative options” if it cannot resolve the “open issues” in the Brexit deal with Northern Ireland. There is also pessimism in Brussels about the prospect of a breakthrough, and right now Brexit is not even on the agenda for the EU summit on September 24.
The Financial Times reported that a planned single market bill to ensure smooth trade between the four British nations would void essential parts of Northern Ireland’s readmission agreement on state aid and tariffs, a step taken by people familiar with the plans, he told the newspaper that he was undermining the prospect of a trade deal.
Hard Brexit in early 2021
EU negotiator Michel Barnier is expected to be in London on Tuesday. Britain left the EU at the end of January. In a transitional phase until the end of the year, the country will continue to be part of the EU internal market and customs union, so almost nothing has changed in everyday life. If no contracts on future relationships are concluded, a strong economic breakdown could occur in early 2021, including the introduction of tariffs and other trade barriers.
