“We are more likely to get an agreement than not” – the agreement is “97 or 98 percent” ready
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney believes that a post-Brexit trade agreement between the EU and Great Britain is achievable despite deadlocked negotiations. “We’re more likely to get an agreement than not because I think it’s in everyone’s interest,” Coveney told the Irish newspaper Sunday Independent on Saturday night.
The trade agreement between the EU and Great Britain is “97 or 98 percent” ready. You have to keep a cool head, an agreement can still be reached. The negotiations are to continue this Sunday.
On Saturday, a direct phone call between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not bring any noticeable breakthrough. In a joint statement after the conversation on Saturday evening, they announced that the chief negotiators should meet on Sunday for new negotiations.
“We will speak again on Monday evening,” it said. There remained “significant differences on three key issues”: fishing rights, guarantees of fair competition and the regulation of future relationships. The negotiations had been declared a top priority after the negotiators failed to make progress on Friday.
The time for an agreement is running out. The transition period, during which Great Britain is still subject to EU rules, expires on December 31st. An extension of the transition phase is not possible. The UK formally left the EU at the end of January. If no agreement is reached, the economy fears disruptions in trade relations and customs barriers from 2021. Because from January 1, 2021, Great Britain will no longer be part of the internal market and the customs union.
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