Brexit: Prime Minister sets October 15 as deadline for EU trade deal

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to say that if a trade deal between the EU and the UK cannot be reached by October 15, both sides should “accept it and move on”.

Johnson will say that completing the UK’s exit from the EU without a trade deal would still be a “good result.”

It comes after UK chief negotiator David Frost said the UK is “not afraid” to walk away.

Another round of talks, the eighth, will begin on Tuesday.

But on the eve of the negotiations, the Financial Times reported that the UK is planning new legislation that will overturn key parts of the Brexit withdrawal deal made last year.

The new bill would remove the legal force of the Northern Ireland customs agreements, which had been designed to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

It would also override the provisions on state aid, the financial assistance that the government sometimes gives to businesses.

Government sources told the BBC the legislation would be presented this week, describing it as a “sensible backup option” should the negotiations fail.

They said it “had no intention of derailing the talks” but a key EU diplomat told the BBC it was “a counterproductive strategy” that could lead to the trade talks falling apart entirely.

On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program that there were two unresolved issues in the negotiations, fishing rights and state aid rules.

The prime minister must say that time is running out to find a solution before December 31, when the UK’s transition period ends. Although the UK left the EU on January 31, it continues to abide by some EU rules while the trade deal is being negotiated.

“We are now entering the final phase of our negotiations with the EU,” Johnson is expected to say.

He will say that there needs to be an agreement in the European Council on October 15 for it to be in force by the end of the year, so “it makes no sense to think about deadlines that go beyond that point.”

“If we can’t agree by then, then I don’t see there is a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept it and move on,” Johnson will say.

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The UK has said it wants to reach an agreement with the EU that resembles Canada’s. But Johnson will say that not reaching an agreement means having a “trade agreement with the EU like Australia’s”, using trade protocols established by the World Trade Organization.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that, as we have said from the beginning, it would be a good result for the UK,” the prime minister will say.

It should say that “we are preparing, at our borders and in our ports, to be prepared”, although groups representing road hauliers have warned that the UK is “sleepwalking towards disaster”.

‘Always ready to talk’

“We will have full control over our laws, our rules and our fishing waters,” Johnson will say.

“We will have the freedom to make trade agreements with every country in the world. And as a result, we will prosper enormously.”

The prime minister is expected to say that the UK “will always be ready to talk to our friends in the EU” even if no agreement is reached, finding “sensible accommodations on practical matters”, including flights, trucking and cooperation. scientific.

He will say that “there is still an agreement” if the EU is willing to rethink its positions “even at this late stage”.

“But we cannot and we will not compromise the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to achieve this.”

EU chief negotiator Michael Barnier previously suggested that the end of October is a “strict deadline” to finalize a deal for next year.

He said it has shown “openness to find a compromise” but the UK “will have to move” if it wants to avoid the consequences of not having a deal.