The heads of state and government agreed that the union would continue to follow the current strategy, and called on London to take the “necessary steps” to conclude the agreement. At the same time, however, EU Member States, their institutions and companies should begin to prepare more intensively for all options, including the separation of the European bloc from Britain without an agreement.
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The United Kingdom left the EU in January, and the two sides have since tried unsuccessfully to reconcile positions on several key contentious issues concerning future relations. If they do not reach an agreement by the end of the year, mutual trade will be complicated by tariffs and quotas.
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The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson originally described Thursday’s summit as a deadline by which he wanted to be clear about the fate of the agreement. However, EU leaders have confirmed Barnier’s mandate to act in the coming weeks.
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At the same time, the resolution adopted emphasizes its current position, in particular on three contentious issues: equal competition rules, compliance monitoring and the right to fish in British waters. Especially on the last point, Britain rejects any compromise.
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Top politicians made it known when they arrived at the meeting that they still wanted an agreement, but not at any cost. In the summit conclusions, they therefore called on the European Commission to prepare “unilateral and temporary measures” in time to mitigate the impact of a possible collapse of the negotiations.
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During the ongoing debate, leaders have said, according to diplomatic sources, that they remain united, even in support of coastal states refusing to give in to Britain on fisheries.
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