British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to continue the talks in a 90-minute interview on Monday. “We agreed that there were no conditions for finalizing the agreement, as significant differences persist in three key areas,” they both said in a joint statement, adding: “We have asked our main negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences for personal discussion. meeting in Brussels in the coming days.
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Just before the interview, Johnson’s office said Britain would step away from the forthcoming International Trade Act, which would allow the Brexit Act to be circumvented: “Britain is ready to remove Article 44 on the internal market and deactivate sections 45 and 47 on state aid.” could be newly applied in accordance with the obligations of international law.
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The EU said that this was the main problem for the ratification of the agreement in the European Parliament, but that other obstacles remained.
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A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier: “Of course we are at the end, but we will continue negotiations. To be clear – the goal of our negotiating team is to reach an agreement. And we keep working on it. ”Johnson added that he was ready to act as long as there was still time.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Photo: Julien Warnand, ČTK / AP
EU negotiator Barnier also said that the negotiations were not “far from the end” and that the talks could be expected to last until half a week, but no longer. Both sides need time to ratify a possible agreement. Britain left the EU on 31 January. By the end of the year, both parties must agree on the form of further relations, including trade relations, otherwise border controls and duties will be introduced and de facto Brexit will occur without an agreement.
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In addition, the British government said it would like to vote on a new law on international trade on Wednesday, which would rewrite the agreement on the United Kingdom’s departure. If this were to happen, it would be the end of negotiations for Brussels.
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An agreement must also be reached by Wednesday because the heads of government and EU countries will meet on Thursday, where they could either sign the agreement, which would then have to be ratified, or start preparing the Union for a British departure without an agreement.
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The agreement is uncertain
It is not yet clear whether the agreement will be concluded or whether Britain will eventually leave without an agreement. “The outcome is still uncertain, with both options still possible,” a senior European diplomat told The Guardian, adding: “The EU stands ready to take another big step towards a fair, sustainable and balanced agreement for both EU and UK citizens. It is up to Britain to choose between this positive result and no agreement. “
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The disputes further concern the issue of a level playing field, European countries’ access to British waters for fishing and infringement proceedings.
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The EU wants the right to fish in British waters for another ten years under current conditions, but London wants a larger share of the fish caught. However, the EU has threatened not to allow British fishermen access to its market in such a case. British negotiators have recently come up with a requirement that ships in British waters be owned for the most part by British owners. According to the negotiators, it is an attempt to appropriate vessels fishing in British waters, as vessels flying the British flag are often owned by Danish, Dutch and Spanish companies.
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