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Boris Johnson will phone European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today to “take stock” of Brexit progress ahead of critical negotiations next week.
The Prime Minister and Ms Von der Leyen still have to overcome “wide divergences” to avoid a No Deal, according to the main negotiators of Britain and the Bloc.
Briefings between the two leaders are seen as key moments in the talks, and the last October conversation “escalated” discussions ahead of fallout after the European Council meeting briefly derailed the negotiations.
Johnson said he hoped a deal could be reached in the next seven to 10 days.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson crosses the Horse Guards Parade in London on Friday. Today he will call Ursula von der Leyen to discuss Brexit ahead of crucial negotiations next week.
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen delivers a press conference at the end of a European Council meeting focused on coronavirus in Brussels on October 29.
“There is a deal to be done, but if not, the country is very well prepared,” he told Sky News yesterday.
UK chief negotiator Lord Frost was in the Belgian capital to negotiate face-to-face with his European Union counterpart Michel Barnier earlier this week.
Meetings between the pair will continue next week after they both agreed that gaps remained in the UK and the bloc’s position.
After the talks ended on Wednesday, Barnier informed MEPs and EU diplomats that “very serious divergences” still existed.
He said the main obstacles remained around the “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competition in areas that include state subsidies, fisheries policy and the governance of any deal.
Lord Frost, commenting afterwards, said that progress had been made during two weeks of intensive talks, but that “great divergences remain on some central issues.”
Although the UK left the EU on January 31, it remains within the tariff-free single market and the bloc’s customs union until the end of this year.
A trade agreement would ensure that there are no tariffs or quotas on the trade of goods between the two parties, but there would still be technical costs, in part associated with customs controls and non-tariff barriers on services.
Progress in reaching even a basic agreement has been slow. The two parties are widely separated on key issues, such as fishing rights and trade regulations.
The European Union’s chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, and the adviser for Europe to the British Prime Minister, David Frost, are seen at the beginning of the first round of talks on the post-Brexit trade agreement between the EU and the Kingdom Kingdom, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 2.
The result of the US presidential elections, although not directly related, could influence the discussions.
President Donald Trump was a self-proclaimed Brexit supporter and said he wanted to conclude a trade deal with the UK upon re-election.
If he loses, many analysts said it would increase pressure on London to secure a trade deal with the EU.
Trump’s Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, has raised concerns about the impact of Brexit on the peace process on the island of Ireland.
Biden said he would seek to rebuild America’s ties with the EU if he became president.
It comes as works are underway to convert a 27-acre site in Kent into a Brexit truck park with room for 1,700 vehicles, and others planned at major ports.
Work is underway to convert a 27-acre field into a post-Brexit truck park, alongside a 13th-century church in the town of Sevington, Kent.
Once built, the site, near Junction 10A of the M20 in Ashford, will be used for custom checks, but will be able to hold 2,000 trucks if there are delays in Dover.
Heavy machinery is currently excavating earth in a field in Sevington, Kent, which will be used as a customs checkpoint, as well as an emergency holding park in case of delays at English ports, including nearby Dover.
Locals are said to be ‘grumpy’ from the dust and mud kicked up by the development, but they are believed to be more in favor of the new use of the site, compared to previous plans to build an Amazon warehouse.
It is feared that up to 7,000 heavy vehicles will be queuing on the English side of the Canal, in case the government does not reach a trade agreement with the European Union before December 31.
But even if a deal is reached, a report released today predicts there will still be delays on January 1.
By July 2021, the main function of the area will be an HMRC customs control center if the government’s plans go through.
Thousands of people have backed an ironic campaign to name the facility after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.
Despite the fact that construction is underway in Sevington, along with the sites at Ashford, Birmingham, Ebbsfleet, North Weald and Warrington, an explosive report released today warned of a ‘significant’ disruption to the UK’s borders from the day of New Year.
Government spending watchdogs said there could be lines of up to 7,000 trucks waiting to cross the Canal from Dover.
Passenger traffic for the Dover and Channel Tunnel ferries could also experience delays of up to two hours during January, and wait times could worsen during 2021.
A view of the area near Sevington in Ashford, Kent, where the government is developing the 27 acre site near the town
The National Audit Office said that although the government had made progress in updating customs systems and other infrastructure, it still expected a “generalized disruption.”
The government has plans for 10 post-Brexit sites, three of which still require full permission.
Ministers were empowered to build in 29 local authorities across the country, stretching from countries like Devon and Kent and Devon in the south, to Liverpool and Hull in the north.
There are no plans to build on the other 19 sites that are not currently established by the Government at this stage.
