“No, No, Nein”: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to be firm and “uncompromising” towards the EU on Monday in a speech aimed at defining the main lines of a post-Brexit UK policy, British media reported on Sunday.
“Brexit, Day 1: Johnson chooses to break with a hard line” for negotiations on the future relationship with the European Union, headlines The Observer. The Prime Minister “is preparing to launch the United Kingdom in a new uncompromising battle with the 27 nations remaining in the European Union,” the Sunday newspaper added.
Mr. Johnson, great apostle of Brexit, is to present Monday the broad outlines of his policy for the United Kingdom, left Friday of the European Union, clarifying his position on the last modalities of divorce between the two powers.
Because if history will retain the symbolic date of January 31, 2020, everything remains to be done and the country is now embarking on a transition period which should last at least until December.
According to all the media, Mr. Johnson should be firm towards his former partner, even raising fears of a new showdown.
“Boris says to the EU: no more concessions”, headlines the Sunday Express, adding “the Prime Minister says to the European Union: No, No, Nein!”.
In his speech on Monday, the Prime Minister should offer his former allies a “take it or leave it” offer, details the Sunday edition of the British daily, offering Brussels the choice between a “free trade agreement similar to that concluded with Canada or an agreement along the lines of that with Australia. “
A government source also told the British news agency PA that Boris Johnson would even be ready to take the risk of a return to border controls if there was no agreement.
This hardening of position is due according to the Sunday Telegraph to “attempts by the European Union to thwart the trade agreement” which the United Kingdom had to conclude with Europe according to the terms mentioned in the agreement negotiated by Boris Jonhson end October. The prime minister was “furious in private,” the newspaper said.
“Brussels has asked the United Kingdom to grant access to its fishing area, to align with European economic standards and to leave its borders open to freedom of movement,” writes the Sunday Express.
“I am sure that the EU will want to honor its commitment to a free trade agreement of the type concluded with Canada,” British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab sought to moderate on Sunday morning.
Raab, who sees the deal as “best in class” and a “win-win opportunity”, added: “We are taking back control of our laws, not to align ourselves with the rules of the European Union”.
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