I will never extend trade talks, Boris warns EU’s Ursula

BORIS Johnson clashed yesterday with the European Commission’s new president as he warned her a Brexit trade deal with Brussels must be sorted by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister told Ursula von der Leyen in Downing Street that he would not extend negotiations under any circumstances.

And he insisted a future trading partnership with the EU must not involve any kind of alignment or European Court of Justice jurisdiction.

Mr Johnson said the UK would also insist on maintaining control of UK fishing waters and immigration rules.

Earlier, however, Mrs von der Leyen had warned that a full deal would not be achievable within the deadline.

In an address at the London School of Economics she said talks on a free trade deal would be “tough”, adding that the timetable set by Mr Johnson was “very, very tight”.

She continued: “Without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020, you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of our new partnership. We will have to prioritise.”

Mr Johnson’s tough message came as he and Jean Claude Juncker’s replacement met for the first time since she took office. She was accompanied by EU negotiator Michel Barnier.

Terrorism

Following Brexit on January 31 there will be a transition period ending on December 31, during which the two sides will try to hammer out the terms of a future trading relationship.

A Downing Street spokesman said it had been a “positive meeting” adding: “The PM reiterated that we wanted a broad free trade agreement covering goods and services, and cooperation in other areas.”

But the spokesman continued: “The PM was clear that the UK would not extend the Implementation Period beyond December 31, 2020.”

At the LSE Mrs von der Leyen stressed the importance for both sides of building a security partnership saying: “The threat of terrorism is real and we have to share the necessary information and intelligence between Europe and the UK to stop terrorists from crossing borders and attacking our way of life.”

On a lighter note Boris, who saluted Mr Barnier as he arrived, reminded Mrs von der Leyen that they both attended the European School in Brussels.

The PM said: “Ursula and I were at school together – we were at the same school.”

Mr Johnson said of himself and friends there: “We introduced a very rough game called British Bulldog” – an aggressive form of tag.

PM Boris Johnson with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at No10 yesterday. Below, he jokingly salutes arriving Brussels negotiator Michel Barnier