[ad_1]
Ursula von der Leyen has told EU leaders that Britain’s exit from the transition period without a trade and security deal is now the most likely outcome.
During a 10-minute briefing at the end of an all-night summit in Brussels, the president of the European Commission declined to put a percentage on the chances of agreement, but told leaders there was a “higher probability of no agreement that agrees, “sources. said.
Faced with the imminent deadline on Sunday agreed by Von der Leyen and Boris Johnson, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that all capitals should agree on a common line in case negotiations fail over the weekend.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose country would be the EU member state most affected by the lack of an agreement, emphasized the damage that would come if negotiators in Brussels were unable to agree on terms.
However, he repeated the EU mantra that a deal would be priceless given the risk to European companies if their British counterparts benefited from lower environmental, social and labor standards while enjoying zero tariff conditions for their exports to the bloc. .
Von der Leyen had updated the exhausted heads of state and government after an all-night discussion about the bloc’s greenhouse gas target for 2030.
An EU official said that Brexit negotiations were proving difficult in recent days and that “the probability of no agreement is greater than that of an agreement.” “Negotiations are resuming today,” the official added. “To be seen on Sunday if a deal is possible.”
During a dinner Wednesday night, Johnson and Von der Leyen gave their negotiators, David Frost and Michel Barnier, until Sunday to try to break out of the Brexit impasse.
Johnson informed his cabinet Thursday that the government needed to prepare for a no-deal exit given the terms offered by Brussels.
He later told broadcasters that he was willing to rush to Paris, Berlin and Brussels again to secure a deal, but would not accept the current offer.
The prime minister has claimed that the proposed EU deal would force the government to follow Brussels while it develops its rule book or face automatic fines.
On Friday morning, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said he believed there was “a significant chance” that an agreement could still be reached, and that the two sides were “90% of the way.” But he said the government needed to “reject” proposals that did not respect UK sovereignty.
Dowden said: “There are these two areas that are outstanding and that no reasonable prime minister could accept.
“In other words, we need to control our own sovereign waters and particularly our fishing policy.
“And, when leaving the EU, we should be free to set our own rules and regulations and not face sanctions if the EU changes its regulations and we don’t comply with them. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to reject those things. “
