[ad_1]
Negotiations for a trade deal between the UK and the EU are in the final stretch. A press conference is scheduled for the morning.
The EU’s chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, in Brussels.
Photo: Olivier Hoslet (Keystone / EPA)
After a general agreement on key points in a Brexit trade pact, everything points to an agreement on Christmas Eve. Experts on both sides had worked out the details to the end. Despite broad agreement on key points on Wednesday, the latest negotiations dragged on to the end. Also on Thursday morning, the details were unclear, as said from negotiating circles in Brussels. However, a deal was still expected on Christmas Eve. The BBC reported that a press conference was planned for the morning. British journalists also speculated about a last phone call between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. There has not yet been an official confirmation.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the EU briefing on fishing rights, scheduled for 9:30 am (CET), has been postponed. Although there was an agreement in principle on this disputed point, the details are still being discussed. On the other hand, an EU representative said that there was still a “dispute over numbers” over fishing rights. He spoke of a “bad sign.”
The comprehensive trade agreement is designed to avoid a severe economic breakdown at the last minute. The transitional phase of Brexit will end on December 31 and Britain will leave the EU internal market and customs union. Without an agreement, there is the risk of tariffs and trade barriers.
In the end, the biggest points of contention were the EU’s demand for fair competition between the contracting parties – an agreement was announced in principle on Wednesday afternoon – and the access rights of EU fishermen to British waters. .
“The signs are good”
“The signals are good,” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said late on Irish television. After much work and time devoted to the key issue of fishing, “it seems that today there is a feeling that something is going to be concluded.”
The transition phase of Brexit ends on December 31. With an agreement, a strong economic breakdown could be avoided at the last minute at the end of the year. However, an agreement could no longer be ratified in time. It would have to be applied provisionally if the EU states agree. The British Parliament, however, should approve it before the end of the year.
With the end of the transition period on December 31, Great Britain will leave the internal market and the customs union. Without an affiliation agreement, there would be a threat of tariffs and trade barriers, as well as stricter merchandise controls at the borders. Thousands of trucks are already stuck on the British side en route to the mainland because France had temporarily sealed the border due to the mutated corona virus, from the point of view of critics, a preview of the situation in a no-deal Brexit.
