Nigel Farage Accuses EU Of Profiting From Mutant Covid Crisis

Nigel Farage today accused the EU of trying to take advantage of the mutant coronavirus crisis to force the UK to sign a ‘bad’ post-Brexit trade deal.

The Brexit Party leader said Britain is “dealing with thugs and bullies” after France suspended all traffic from the UK for 48 hours in a move that threatens to severely disrupt trade flows.

He suggested that the move was a bargaining tactic to make the UK bow down to Brussels’ trade demands, as he said it is “time to walk away” from the talks.

The timing of the closure of ports could not be worse for the Government, as it occurs less than two weeks before the end of the transition period from the ‘status quo’ and a few days before Christmas.

Brexit trade talks between the two sides are ongoing, but if they fail to reach an agreement, the UK and the EU will negotiate on basic World Trade Organization terms from January 1, with tariffs imposed on them. goods and long-awaited border chaos.

Farage’s explosive claims came after Nicola Sturgeon demanded that Downing Street seek an extension of the transition period.

The Scottish prime minister said it is “imperative” that Boris Johnson tries to delay the negotiation deadline beyond December 31 after the discovery of the fastest-spreading variant of the disease in the UK.

But Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said this morning there will be “absolutely not” an extension.

He told BBC Breakfast: “ I think the only thing that could add fuel to the fire would be to end something that everyone knows is ending for a long time, which is the end of the transition period that completes on December 31 , so absolutely no, no.

Johnson is holding an emergency Cobra committee meeting this morning after France banned trucks carrying cargo from the UK and countries around the world suspended flights amid fears over the new mutant strain.

France has said the ban on all traffic from the UK will last for an initial 48-hour period while Paris assesses the risk posed by the variant.

Carriers arriving in Britain from France will be allowed entry, but it is feared that truck drivers will not travel to avoid being “stranded” in the UK.

Farage claimed that the border closure was an attempt to cause the UK to collapse during the Brexit negotiations, which remain mired in the crucial questions of fishing rights and the so-called ‘level playing field’ on the rules.

He tweeted: ‘We are dealing with thugs and thugs who want to make us sign a bad deal. Time to go, to hell with the EU.

He later told Politico: “If this is the heavy hand of the EU negotiations, the time has come to say go to hell.”

On the other side of the political divide, Sturgeon asked Mr. Johnson to negotiate an extension of the transition period.

He said the UK is facing a “profoundly grave situation” due to the mutation of the virus and warned that it would be “inconceivable” to leave the EU at the end of the year without agreeing on trade terms.

She wrote on Twitter: ‘It is now imperative that the PM seek a deal to extend the Brexit transition period.

‘The new Covid strain, and its various implications, means that we are facing a deeply grave situation and it demands our 100% attention.

“It would be inconceivable to make it worse with Brexit.”

The European Parliament had set a deadline last night for the UK and the EU to agree on a trade deal, but there was no progress.

MEPs said that if an agreement is reached beyond that point, they will not have enough time to analyze and vote on it properly.

David McAllister, the European Parliament’s chief representative on Brexit, said last night that missing the deadline means there won’t be a trade deal in time for Dec. 31.

He warned that MEPs “will not be in a position to consent to an agreement this year.”

However, if the European Parliament stands firm and refuses to ratify an agreement, it is believed that EU member states could try to sideline MEPs.

European capitals could “provisionally apply” the terms of a trade deal in time for January 1 and then ask MEPs to formally ratify it in January.

While technically possible, it is thought that such an approach could cause significant legal problems for both parties.

The UK and the EU are committed to continuing the talks, and a senior EU diplomat told The Telegraph: “December 31 is the only deadline.”

A senior UK government source said last night: ‘The teams have been trading all day and hope to continue tomorrow.

‘The talks remain difficult and significant differences persist. We continue to explore all routes to an agreement that is in line with the fundamental principles that we incorporate into the negotiations. ‘

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the negotiations are at a “crucial moment” and insisted that Brussels “remains committed to a fair, reciprocal and balanced agreement.”

But he warned: ‘We respect the sovereignty of the UK. And we hope the same. ‘

Barnier said that both the EU and the UK “should have the right to make their own laws and control their own waters” under the terms of any agreement, as he stressed that “we should both be able to act when our interests are at stake.”

His comments came after Health Secretary Matt Hancock fired a volley at Brussels when he said the EU will have to “make the move” and withdraw its “unreasonable demands” if a deal is to be reached.

Fishing is now seen as the biggest obstacle to a deal with the two parties unable to agree on how resources should be divided in UK waters.

The EU is said to have offered an eight-year transition to new agreements and returned 22 percent of its current fishing quota.

But the UK has offered a three-year ‘glide path’ and wants the EU to pay back 50 per cent of its quota.

European fishermen are increasingly concerned that Mr Barnier is ‘selling them downstream’.