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Boris Johnson left the gauntlet to the EU today, telling Brussels that they must ‘come to us’ and compromise if there is to be a trade deal, as he warned that the UK will now step up its preparations for a messy divorce.
The prime minister said the bloc appeared to have “abandoned the idea of a free trade agreement” and, as a result, Britain “should prepare for January 1 with agreements more similar to Australia’s.”
However, he did not formally withdraw from the talks, saying that the UK was ready to hear if the EU presents a “fundamental change in approach”.
Johnson had set yesterday’s meeting of the European Council as the deadline for agreeing on a deal outline.
But the EU refused to budge, saying the UK must take the next step if a deal is to be reached.
The two sides now appear to be caught in a risky game as the clock ticks to the end of the post-Brexit transition period in December.
Boris Johnson told the EU today to ‘come to us’ when it is ready to commit to the terms of a post-Brexit trade deal, as he said the UK will now step up preparations for a disorderly split.
EU leaders said yesterday they wanted talks with the UK to continue, but insisted the UK must take the next step if a deal is to be reached. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared to scoff at Johnson’s summit deadline when he said: “Britain has already imposed so many deadlines that came and went.”
Johnson suggested last month that both parties should withdraw from the talks and prepare for a no-deal divorce if there is no agreement at the Oct. 15 summit.
EU leaders refused to give in to the deadline, as they signaled last night their willingness for discussions to continue, but did not give ground.
In a text adopted by the leaders on the day of the prime minister’s deadline, they “invited” the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, to continue talks while urging the UK to “take the necessary measures to make a possible agreement”.
Johnson delivered a hard-line response to the bloc this afternoon, saying the UK will now step up its efforts to prepare for a no-deal split as it also kept the door open for talks if the EU changes course.
He said: ‘From what I can see, they have abandoned the idea of a free trade agreement. There doesn’t seem to be any progress coming from Brussels.
‘What we are telling you is just come here, come to us, if there is any fundamental change in approach, otherwise we are more than happy to talk about the nuts and bolts I outlined, social security issues, transportation by road, etc. .
“But unless there is a fundamental change in approach, we are going to go for the Australian solution and we must do it with great confidence, great heart, confidence, because we can do it.”
Australia does not have a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU, but it also does much less business with Brussels than the UK.
A no-deal split would cause the EU to impose tariffs on UK goods, with business groups warning that this would hurt British businesses at a time when they can least afford it due to the coronavirus crisis.
Johnson said that what the EU wanted the UK to agree on in key negotiating areas was “completely unacceptable.”
“From the beginning we were very clear that we did not want anything more complicated than a Canadian-style relationship based on friendship and free trade,” he said.
‘Judging from the last EU summit in Brussels, that will not work for our EU partners.
“They want the continued ability to control our legislative freedom, our fisheries, in a way that is completely unacceptable to an independent country.
And since we only have 10 weeks until the end of the transition period on January 1, I have to make a judgment on the likely outcome and prepare all of us.
Given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the past few months, and since this summit seems to explicitly rule out a Canada-style deal, I have come to the conclusion that we should prepare for January 1 with deals more akin to the ones. from Australia. based on simple principles of global free trade. ‘
Johnson’s comments represented a significant tightening of the UK’s stance after Lord Frost called the response agreed by Brussels last night “unusual.”
He tweeted: ‘Disappointed by the European Council conclusions on the UK-EU negotiations.
‘(I am) surprised that the EU is no longer committed to working “hard” to achieve a future partnership as agreed with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 3 October.
I am also struck by the suggestion that all future movements must come from the UK to reach an agreement. It’s an unusual approach to conducting a negotiation. ‘
In a call with Ms Von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on the eve of the summit, Mr Johnson expressed “disappointment” that the talks had not progressed further.
However, skepticism remains in Brussels that Johnson actually follows through on his threat to disrupt negotiations.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared to mock his counterpart yesterday when he said: “Britain has already imposed so many deadlines that came and went.”
Meanwhile, Michel told a press conference that Brussels would decide in the next few days, based on upcoming UK proposals, whether a deal is possible.
“We are clear that we are determined to negotiate, we are determined to reach an agreement but we know that there are some difficult issues,” he said.
“This is the case of fishing, without a doubt, and also of equal conditions and also of governance.
Emmanuel Macron said he will not allow French fishermen to be ‘slaughtered by Brexit’ while sticking to his negotiating red line on access to UK waters.
This map shows the extent of the UK Exclusive Economic Zone, the waters that Britain will regain control after Brexit. Currently, the EEZ of each EU member state is merged into one large area that is accessible to fishermen from all over Europe.
“We are united and we will make an evaluation in the coming days, we will see if it is possible to complete a negotiation, what will be the proposal of the country (of the United Kingdom) and based on that we will make an evaluation.”
Both sides want an agreement to be reached before winter to allow time for it to be ratified and implemented before the end of the transition period.
If no deal is reached, the UK will trade with the bloc under the terms of the World Trade Organization from January 2021.
The government has repeatedly described this approach as an Australian-style deal, but critics insist it is a nicer way of saying there will be no trade deal.
The UK and the EU have recognized that the issue of post-Brexit fishing rights remains one of the most difficult issues to resolve.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is under pressure from his country’s fishermen who fear losing access to British waters, yesterday stood firm on the issue.
“Under no circumstances should our fishermen be sacrificed for Brexit,” he said.
‘If these conditions are not met, we may not have a deal. If the correct terms cannot be found at the end of these discussions, we are ready for a no-deal for our future relationships. ‘
Foreign Minister Dominic Raab today urged the EU to show more “flexibility”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “There is a deal to be done, but there must be flexibility on both sides, energy and good will and political will on both sides, and the Prime Minister will say more (today).”
He said the government was “surprised by the attitude and willingness” of the European Council.
He added: “I am surprised and disappointed by the lack of flexibility and will that at least seems to have come out of the European Council.”
