EU DON’T CONVINCE US ON BREXIT, BORIS
Brussels chief doubts PM will keep his word
BORIS Johnson will speak to EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen today in a bid to rescue rapidly deteriorating Brexit talks.
The Prime Minist er’s personal intervention in the negotiations comes after Von der Leyen announced that the EU was launching legal action against the UK over Johnson’s bid to break an agreement between the two countries.
But UK sources warned that parts of deal with the EU may prove “impossible” and there is now “very little time” left to bridge the gap.
As today’s virtual talks kick off, there are just 12 days until the EU summit in which a trade deal is meant to be agreed.
If talks collapse, EU rules will end in the UK at 11pm on December 31 and billions of pounds worth of trade will be slapped with tariffs and bureaucracy overnight. Government officials believe the change could see queues of up to 7000 lorries to Kent’s ports in a worst-case scenario.
An EU insider told our sister paper the Mirror that talks had “reached their limit without actual commitments from Boris Johnson”.
They also warned European leaders “would need convincing that he would keep his word” after showing he was willing to tear up previous agreements with the 27 nations.
Britain’s Brexit negotiator Lord Frost said the “outlines” of a free trade agreement with the EU are “visible” but that “familiar differences” remain.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said an “efficient governance framework” was “even more important” following the UK Government’s decision to pass the Internal Market Bill, which he said “breaches its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland”.
Following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal negotiations in Brussels, Frost said there had been “limited progress” – but not on the key issue of fishing policy.
He added: “On fisheries, the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU, risks being impossible to bridge.
“These issues are fundamental to our future status as an independent country.”
Von der Leyen had earlier said: “It is good to have a deal – but not at any price. We are running out of time so it is worth stepping up now.”