Brexit imminent with no deal: Brexit negotiators make another attempt – News

12/06/2020 Switzerland



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  • Negotiators from the EU and the UK will continue talks on a Brexit trade pact on Sunday.
  • EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost broke off the talks on Friday for the time being.
  • As a result, the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, telephoned yesterday Saturday.

For a short time before the phone call, high-level hopes were raised that a deal could be imminent. However, they were quickly disappointed. Von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson found only “considerable differences” and returned the baton to the negotiators. It was not clear if its scope for concessions will now be greater. Von der Leyen and Johnson want to talk about the situation again on Monday.

A hard break threatens

If the talks fail, there will be tariffs and other trade barriers between Britain and the continent by the end of the year. Because then the Brexit transition period will expire, during which everything remained the same despite the UK’s departure from the EU on January 31. In the event that no agreement is reached, the economy on both sides of the English Channel expects major disruptions.

EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier

Legend:

“We will see if there is (still) a way,” EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said of the state of the negotiations.

Reuters

It is feared that there will be miles of traffic jam inside the Dover ferry terminal and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone.

France threatens to veto

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France stepped up pressure in negotiations on a Brexit trade deal with Britain and threatened again with a veto. “If there is an agreement, we will evaluate and analyze the text,” said French Secretary of State for Europe, Clément Beaune, of the Sunday newspaper “Le Journal Du Dimanche”.

“However, if the agreement is not good and does not satisfy our interests, especially the interests of the fishermen, we, France, like any Member State, could veto.” Beaune said there is no reason to make French fishermen pay for the “dramatic consequences” of the Brexit referendum, in which they did not participate.

According to a report by The Observer, the British government even plans to fly the corona vaccine recently approved in the country by Mainz-based company Biontech and its American partner Pfizer with military aircraft. This should avoid delays in the delivery of preparation caused by Brexit. Traffic jams are expected even in the case of a deal, because additional formalities will arise without customs duties.

The main arguments of the negotiations revolve around three issues: equality of conditions, fishing and the instruments to sanction the violations of the envisaged agreement.

The details of the trouble spots

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  • Fair conditions of competition: the keyword is level playing field. Among other things, it is about environmental, social and aid standards. Britain would like to have as few EU guidelines as possible; for Johnson, this is a question of sovereignty. The EU, on the other hand, would like to avoid competitive advantages for British companies through regular dumping, especially since the desired trade agreement would allow British products to enter the EU market without payment and without quantity restrictions.
  • Fishing: There is the possibility of an agreement on the second important issue. This is the amount of fish that EU fishermen can catch in UK waters. Quotas and a clause to review the regulation after a specified period (review clause) are being discussed. Especially for the EU coastal states France, Belgium, the Netherlands, but also Germany, fishing is of great political importance.
  • Regulation of future relationships: Here there are differences on the instruments to sanction the violations of the planned agreement. Another major hurdle in the negotiations is the draft UK Internal Market Act, which would undermine parts of the EU exit treaty already in place. The British government announced that it would reintroduce the controversial clauses into the bill on Monday.

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