This agreement came about after a lot of laborious negotiation. But Prime Minister Johnson now wants to go out under certain conditions, despite the British parliament agreeing to it after endless debating.
This puts peace on the Irish island under pressure because Northern Ireland does not – as agreed – continue to follow European customs rules, which will create a hard border on the island.
On Wednesday, when the British government submitted the controversial law, it readily admitted to violating international law. The atmosphere of the talks, the future relationship and a trade agreement are currently being negotiated, is therefore even worse than it already was.
Legal means
The EU will not hesitate to enforce by legal means which Johnson has previously signed, was the message from European Commissioner Sefkovic in London.
Meanwhile, EU chief negotiator Barnier has conducted a round of negotiations in London with his British counterpart Frost. There must be an outline agreement on trade before the end of October. The transition phase that the British are still in will end on 1 January. If there is nothing, they no longer have access to the European internal market.
Trust
Confidence in a happy outcome seems to have plummeted even further due to the haggling. “But we will keep trying to get things done. Our interests are too intertwined to give up, ”said a senior EU diplomat. A major problem is that the UK does not want to comply with state aid rules, which means that the EU fears unfair competition for European businesses. That is not possible if it wants access to the internal market, according to the Union.
There is also still a long way to go on fishing. The UK wants to decide annually who can catch fish in its waters.
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