UK will quit Brexit talks if no deal by October 15: Boris Johnson
07 September, 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked tough on Sunday before a crucial round of post-Brexit trade talks with europe, saying Britain could leave from the talks within weeks and insisting a no-deal exit will be a "good outcome for the united kingdom".
With talks deadlocked, Johnson said an agreement would only be possible if EU negotiators are prepared to "rethink their current positions". The EU, subsequently, accuses Britain of failing woefully to negotiate seriously.
Britain left the now 27-nation EU on January 31, three-and-a-half years after the country narrowly voted to get rid of a lot more than four decades of membership. That political departure will be accompanied by an economic break when an 11-month transition period ends on December 31 and the united kingdom leaves the EU's single market and customs union.
Without a deal, the New Year will bring tariffs and other monetary barriers between your UK and the bloc, its biggest trading partner. Johnson said the united states would "prosper mightily" even if Britain had "a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia's" -- the UK government's favored description of a no-deal Brexit.
British chief negotiator David Frost and his counterpart Michel Barnier are because of meet in London starting Tuesday for the eighth round of negotiations. The main element sticking points are European boats' usage of UK fishing waters and state aid to industries.
The EU is determined to make sure a "level playing field" for competition so British organizations can't undercut the bloc's environmental or workplace standards or pump public money into UK industries.
Britain accuses the bloc of earning demands that it hasn't imposed on other countries it has free trade deals with, such as Canada.
Frost told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that Britain was "not likely to compromise on the basics of experiencing control over our very own laws.". "We are not going to accept level playing field provisions that lock us into the way the EU do things," he said.
The EU says a deal needs to be struck before November to allow time for parliamentary approval and legal vetting prior to the transition period expires.
Johnson gave a straight shorter deadline, saying an agreement needed to be sealed by an EU summit scheduled for October 15.
"If we can not agree by then, i quickly do not see that you will see a free of charge trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on," he said.
Barnier said last week he was "worried and disappointed" by having less progress and said the united kingdom hadn't "engaged constructively".
With out a deal, British freight companies have warned there could be logjams at ports and supplies of key goods in Britain could possibly be "severely disrupted" starting January 1.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday that talks were "not going well" and dismissed British attempts to operate a vehicle a wedge between EU nations on issues such as for example fishing.
Le Drian said the 27 nations remained united.
"We'd prefer a deal, but a deal on the basis of our mandate," he told France Inter radio. "There is room for action, however the whole package, including the fishing package, should be taken up in order to avoid a 'no deal.'"
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