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Boris Johnson will head to Brussels for post-Brexit trade talks after a phone call with the president of the EU Commission ended with “significant differences” unresolved.
The couple spoke Monday afternoon, their second conversation in 48 hours, but were unable to overcome the remaining three hurdles: governance, a level playing field and fishing.
In a joint statement, the prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen revealed that they asked their negotiators to “prepare an overview of the remaining differences” and that they will meet face to face “in the coming days.”
Ursula von der Leyen held a call with the prime minister on Monday
There is less than a month left until the end of the transition period, which will end on December 31. It came into effect after Brexit happened on January 31.
Tensions are mounting as talks shrink to the limit, and companies are unsure exactly what rules will operate and what costs products may incur to be exported or imported.
Less than a month until the end of the transition period
The two sides had set a mid-October deadline for the talks to conclude, but that has been continuously delayed and can now continue towards a summit of EU leaders on Thursday.
A senior government source said “no tangible progress had been made” since Friday, when Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier was in London.
Agreement or no agreement will have great implications for companies that export or import
“Although we do not consider that this process is closed, things look very complicated and there is a good chance that we will not get there,” they added.
Rachel Reeves, the Labor Party shadow minister in the Cabinet Office, said the UK and the EU should “go ahead with reaching an agreement.”
He added that the government “was not keeping its promises” and warned that closing a deal was “fundamental to the British national interest in jobs and security.”
By Monday morning, the pound had fallen more than two cents against the US dollar to just over $ 1.32 as investors grew more concerned about the possibility of a no-deal result.
It was a sharp setback from market optimism during last week’s talks, in which the British pound rose above $ 1.35 for the first time this year.
However, the UK currency was trading above $ 1.33 following the joint statement, and just below 1.10 euros.
