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Brussels and London want to make one last attempt before Sunday to reach an agreement on a trade deal. But no agreement is in sight.
French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU summit in Brussels.
Photo: Olivier Matthys (Reuters)
After each ultimatum, there is always another deadline. For what appears to have been with Brexit so far. After his failure Dinnertreffen In Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have instructed their top negotiators to try again on Sunday. But then it really should be over: “We will decide on Sunday,” said the president of the Commission. That was also the tenor of the summit of heads of state and government of the 27 member states, which began on Thursday in Brussels.
To underline the seriousness of the situation, the EU Commission Emergency measures which should come into force if the UK leaves the internal market and the customs union at the end of the year without an agreement. The emergency measures are intended to alleviate the feared chaos at the turn of the year. “We have to be prepared, also for the fact that no contract is in force on January 1,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Much of what was previously taken for granted would no longer be. Without emergency measures, for example, air traffic between the EU and the UK would have to be closed. These are flight rights, but also safety certificates for British aircraft machines and parts. These certificates are issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and would then cease to be valid.
Chaos since January 1
The emergency measure would allow a large part of the air traffic to be maintained for a maximum of six months, even without valid permits and certificates. As long as Britain grants reciprocity to European airlines, the EU Commission insists on reciprocity in its proposal. There should be a similar transitional rule on reciprocity to maintain freight and bus traffic for now. A final emergency measure concerns the sensitive issue of fisheries. This agreement is intended to allow British trawlers access to EU waters for one more year and vice versa.
We had a “very long” conversation in Brussels: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen.
Photo: Olivier Hoslet (Reuters)
Ursula von der Leyen reported that she had a “very long” conversation with Boris Johnson on Wednesday: “We are ready to give our British friends access to the world’s largest single market.” But the condition is fairness for workers and companies, that is, protection against British dumping in environmental and social regulations or subsidies. This difficult balance of fairness has not yet been achieved, said the Commission President. In addition to fair competition, as in Switzerland, dispute resolution is another sticking point. The EU wants a horizontal solution and the possibility of imposing tariffs or quotas unilaterally if the British do not adhere to the agreements. London wants the resolution of disputes only sectorally and by mutual agreement in joint committees.
In London there has been recent speculation about cracks in the closed front of the EU states.
After dinner, it was the fish menu that got people talking, interpreted by observers as an allusion to one of the sticking points in the negotiations. Observers say a compromise on the fisheries issue is possible. Boris Johnson would have liked to be invited to the EU summit, which began a few hours after dinner at the headquarters of the EU Commission.
In London there has been recent speculation about cracks in the closed front of the EU states. Boris Johnson is also said to have pleaded with Ursula von der Leyen to give more flexibility to the negotiating mandate of chief negotiator Michel Barnier. The head of the commission should have raised this issue at the summit. However, the Briton was not heard.
Of course no deal
On the part of the heads of state and government, there was no interest in negotiating in large groups or changing the mandate. There they are very satisfied with the chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who has so far guaranteed closed ranks and a clear line. In any case, Brexit should not be the central theme of the summit, only a report by Michel Barnier was planned. The focus of the summit was on the EU’s climate targets, possible sanctions against Ankara due to Turkey’s illegal gas drilling in the Aegean Sea and, above all, the rule of law mechanism that Hungary and Poland have blocked during a long time together with the EU budget and the Corona fund. Here it became clear that the heads of state and government were one Commitment that was negotiated by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Yet when it comes to Brexit, most seem to be bracing for a no-deal. “It takes two for a tango,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. A trade agreement could be so unfavorable that in the end it would not be worth accepting: “We are not going to conclude an agreement that undermines companies in Denmark, Sweden or Germany.”
British Prime Minister Johnson is also assuming a no-deal Brexit. “Now there is a high probability that we will get a solution similar to the relationship between Australia and the EU and not one that corresponds to the relationship between Canada and Europe,” Johnson said late at night. “That doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
