Prepare for no deal with EU ‘ with high hearts’ says Prime Minister

BORIS JOHNSON has called a halt to talks with Brussels on a post- Brexit free trade agreement, warning Britain to prepare for a final no- deal break with the European Union.

In a statement to broadcasters yesterday, the Prime Minister accused EU leaders of seeking to impose a series of “unacceptable” demands and called for a “fundamental change of approach” if there was to be any agreement.

The immediate response from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was to say that the EU would carry on negotiating, with talks next week in London going ahead as planned.

However, at a briefing for journalists in Westminster, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the negotiations were now “over”.

He said there was “no point” in the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier travelling to the UK unless the EU changed its negotiating position.

“The trade talks are over. The EU have effectively ended them by saying that they do not want to change their negotiating position,” the spokesman said.

“There is only any point in Michel Barnier coming to London next week if he is prepared to discuss all of the issues on the basis of legal texts in an accelerated way, without the UK being required to make all of the moves.

“Or he is willing to discuss the practicalities of areas such as travel and haulage, which the PM mentioned in his statement. If not, there is no point in coming.”

Mr Johnson had previously said that he would walk away from the negotiations if there was no agreement on a deal by the time of this week’s EU summit in Brussels.

In his broadcast statement, the Prime Minister said it was clear from the gathering in the Belgian capital the EU was not prepared to offer Britain the kind of Canadastyle free trade agreement it was seeking.

He said businesses and individuals should now start preparing to start trading with the EU on World Trade Organisation ( WTO) rules like Australia when the current Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year.

“From the outset, we were totally clear that we wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada- style relationship, based on friendship and free trade,” he said.

“To judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for our EU partners. They want the continued ability to control our legislative freedom, our fisheries, in a way that is obviously unacceptable to an independent country.

“Given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada- style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1 with arrangements that are more like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade.”

Mr Johnson said Britain could embrace the prospect of trading on WTO terms – with tariffs on many goods and some quota restrictions – with “high hearts and complete confidence”.

However, industry reacted with alarm, warning of the damage to an economy already stricken by coronavirus if there was no deal by the end of the year.

The two sides have been at loggerheads for months over the issues of future fishing rights and state aid rules.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for compromise on both sides but French president Emmanuel Macron warned he would not allow French fishermen to be “sacrificed” for the sake of a deal.

The trade talks are over. The EU have effectively ended them. Prime Minister’s official spokesman.