[ad_1]
The UK’s top Brexit negotiator told his European counterpart not to come to London on Monday to resolve the stalled talks, after the prime minister warned it was time to “prepare” to leave without a deal.
David Frost spoke to Michel Barnier after Boris Johnson claimed that Brussels had “abandoned” the ambition of a free trade agreement, but insisted that “we always knew there would be change” next year once the Brexi the transition period ends.
“Consequently, there was no basis for negotiations in London as of Monday,” said a spokesman for the prime minister.
However, they added that Lord Frost agreed to speak with Barnier sometime early next week.
Speaking from Downing Street after a ME While both parties said it was the deadline for reaching an agreement, Johnson said the country appeared to be heading towards what he called “the Australian solution.”
He suggested that he is not completely walking away from the negotiations, adding: “What we are telling you is to come here, come to us, if there is any fundamental change in approach.
The United Kingdom left the EU on January 31 this year.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
After that, the country entered a transitional period, following many of the same rules, meaning there were no changes in trade and tariffs or things like freedom of movement.
Since then, negotiators have been trying to finalize a trade deal that will come into effect when it is finalized in late December.
But Johnson said in a dramatic speech that “there does not appear to be any progress coming from Brussels.”
He told companies and carriers to “prepare” so that there is no free trade agreement.
Instead, he said the UK’s relationship with the EU could be more similar to that Brussels has with Australia, meaning that tariffs will be introduced on products between the UK and the other 27 EU countries.
Johnson urged people to “embrace” the plan with “big hearts”, promising that the UK “will prosper mightily”.
His spokesman later said that official talks “were over” and that it “didn’t make sense” for discussions scheduled for next week to go ahead.
Ms Von der Leyen said the EU negotiators would come to London next week as planned.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, said she will continue to work for an agreement, “but not at any price.”
“As planned, our negotiating team will travel to London next week to intensify these negotiations,” he added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also echoed a similar sentiment, saying: “As far as the EU is concerned, and as far as I am concerned, we should continue to negotiate.”
And Charles Michel, head of the EU Council, said that fishing remains a “very important issue” in the talks, insisting that the UK should implement the divorce deal “in full” after Johnson threatened to annul it.
At home, Nicola Sturgeon said she was “deeply frustrated and depressed” at the prospect of an end to the transition to a no-trade deal while the UK is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
And Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael tweeted: “Going from ‘oven ready’ to ‘no deal’ in less than nine months suggests total incompetence on the part of the prime minister and his government.”
The pound fell a penny against the dollar immediately after the prime minister’s statement, but quickly rebounded to trade at just under $ 1.29.
Analysis: EU will not be encouraged or bothered by the Prime Minister’s intervention
By Adam Parsons, Europe Correspondent
The transition period ends at the end of December 2020
The EU won’t see these comments exactly as encouraging, but it won’t be particularly upset either.
Johnson has cleared the way for the talks to continue, inviting the EU to “come here, come to us.”
And by happy coincidence, Michel Barnier had already offered to continue the negotiations in London next week.
As for the commitment to prepare for an Aussie-style deal, as far as almost no deal is concerned, EU sources have told me that they believe everyone should have been making those preparations anyway, just in case.
Does this raise the temperature? Perhaps, although the pressure of the clock is doing it anyway.
The EU believes that little progress has been made, but no one claims that a deal is around the corner.
The economic damage of COVID-19 is a much bigger problem for many leaders.
Many countries see the Brexit deal as a distraction at a time when they want to spend their time focusing on how to respond to the resurgent pandemic.
And there is a school of thought among some in Brussels that a no-deal period could be a good thing, to focus attention on a later return to negotiations.
A diplomat told me: “If we end up with no agreement and huge lines of trucks on both sides of the Canal, then everyone could negotiate with a little more purpose.”
The mantra here has been “we want a deal, but not at any cost.” There aren’t many signs that someone is taking a fundamental rethinking right now.
