Brexit trade deal could be just nine days away, senior MEP says, as EU leaders warn absolute deadline is December 10
A BREXIT deal could be agreed in as little as nine days, a senior MEP said yesterday, after Michel Barnier briefed the European Parliament on the UK-EU trade negotiations.
The EU’S chief negotiator told MEPS he expected trade talks to continue until the “last possible moment” after negotiations closed in London.
It now appears certain that the unofficial deadline of Thursday’s EU summit, where the bloc’s 27 leaders were expected to give their political blessing to the deal, will be missed.
The European Parliament told Mr Barnier that the absolute latest they could get the negotiated deal was Dec 10, the first day of the next EU summit. Sources warned that the deal would have to be agreed before then to allow time for translation into the EU’S official languages and for related decisions in the council.
After EU leaders approve the deal, MEPS must back it before the end of the year, and the transition period, to prevent a no deal, which would mean the two sides trading on WTO terms.
“Given the information I have I expect the negotiation to last another seven to 10 days,” Philippe Lamberts, a senior MEP on the European Parliament’s Brexit committee said yesterday.
Clément Beaune, France’s Europe minister, said: “I think a deal is possible. Both parties want one. It will require several days, possibly two to three more weeks, of negotiation.”
He heaped pressure on Mr Barnier to get the deal done before Dec 10. “If it happens after the end of November, we will be in trouble,” he said.
The two sides remain divided over fishing, the level playing field guarantees and the deal’s enforcement. The EU and UK have shared new proposals on fishing rights but Downing Street said there were significant differences over the three major obstacles. Informal talks could continue through the weekend but formal negotiations will resume
in Brussels on Monday.
Mr Lamberts, the leader of the European Greens, said the departure of Dominic Cummings was “probably the sign that Johnson has begun his U-turn and will in the end accept EU conditions”. Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party, the largest group in the Brussels and Strasbourg parliament, urged Mr Johnson to cave on his red lines after Mr Cummings announced his resignation. He told the BBC: “We can also see this as a quite chaotic situation where we don’t have an idea what is really the line in Great Britain. So don’t tell us we should be ready for compromise. We need a clear idea from Boris Johnson now.”
British sources conceded the negotiations could not go on for “much longer” than nine days. Both sides need to ratify a deal but there was more pressure on the EU’S timetable, they said.
“We never said Thursday’s summit was any sort of deadline,” an EU official said. “It’d be nice and tidy but I am not sure it is going to work out like that.”
MEPS were originally scheduled to vote on the deal on Dec 16. They could now hold the vote after Christmas but before the end of the year and transition period.