Home » World » The EU must prepare for the possibility that an agreement with the UK will not be reached / Day

The EU must prepare for the possibility that an agreement with the UK will not be reached / Day

“I will try to reach a good solution, but the EU and Germany should be prepared in case no agreement is reached,” Merkel said in the Bundestag on the day Germany takes over the EU presidency.

Britain left the EU on 31 January, and both sides have time until the end of the year to agree on their future relationship. However, in fact, in order for the new trade agreement and the framework agreement to enter into force on 1 January next year, the negotiating parties must sign it no later than October.

At present, the United Kingdom is still part of the EU’s internal market and customs union, forced to comply with the bloc’s rules and contribute to its budget. However, if no agreement is reached during the transitional period, trade between the two parties will henceforth be governed by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, which provide for various customs barriers.

The next round of EU-Britain talks on the relationship between the two sides after the Brexit begins in Brussels on Monday. Intensive talks are expected to last five weeks.

For the time being, both sides are still firmly in the position, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that Britain was ready to accept the consequences if no agreement was reached.

Merkel has also expressed more sharply in an interview whether she doubts whether London wants an agreement at all.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.