BORIS: I HAVE MY LIMITS... WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?
PM DOUBTFUL THAT LAST-DITCH BID TO BREAK BREXIT DEADLOCK WILL SUCCEED
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Trade mission:
BORIS JOHNSON insists he is ‘willing to try anything’ to secure a Brexit trade deal but admits reaching an agreement remains ‘very difficult’.
The prime minister is heading to Brussels today for face-to-face talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and has vowed to work ‘up to the wire’ to get a deal.
But he said the UK will leave the single market and customs union with or without a deal on December 31.
‘There are just limits beyond which no sensible, independent government or country could go and people have got to understand that,’ he added.
‘We are always hopeful but there may come a moment when we have to acknowledge that it is time to draw stumps, and that is just the way it is.’
Hopes were boosted yesterday after Michael Gove agreed a deal ‘in principle’ with the EU on post-Brexit border checks and trading rules in Northern Ireland.
The Cabinet Office minister agreed to drop measures in a Bill that would have overridden parts of the Brexit divorce deal, potentially breaking international law.
The European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said it had ‘removed one big obstacle’ and would ‘create positive momentum’ for negotiators. But the two sides remain deadlocked over the future trade deal – with fishing rights, business competition rules and how any agreement will be enforced proving problematic. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said last night the chances of resolving the differences were ‘very slim’. He warned his bosses they need an ‘urgent contingency plan for no-deal’, but later said: ‘More than ever, Brexit is a university of patience.’ Mr Johnson said he hoped the ‘power of sweet reason’ would ensure a deal. And Ms von der Leyen last night tweeted that she was ‘looking forward’ to welcoming him to ‘continue our discussion on the Partnership Agreement’.
But Brexiteers have warned the PM against giving too much away when he meets EU leaders in person. ‘A free trade agreement is one thing, subservience is another,’ said former Brexit minister David Jones. And Nigel Farage tweeted: ‘When Michael Gove says there is a pragmatic agreement on Northern Ireland, and the EU are happy, then you know we are being walked all over.’