news

Followers

EU will do 'maximum' to meet Brexit trade deal deadline: negotiator Barnier

As British PM Boris Johnson said he was determined to keep the promises made to the people who elected us - we will leave the EU by the end of January and unleash the potential of this country.

Michel Barnier, who is the EU's chief Brexit negotiator on Tuesday said the bloc would do its utmost to meet a tight deadline and agree a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain before the end of next year.

"We will do the maximum," Barnier told reporters when asked if he could meet an eleven-month deadline to seal the trade agreement with Britain and avoid a no-deal divorce that could punish the economy.

United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on January 31, and will then enter a transition period - due to conclude in December 2020 - where it remains a member of the bloc in all but name as both sides try to hammer out a deal on their post-Brexit relationship.

The House of Commons is set to vote on an amended Withdrawal Agreement Bill this week that could rule out any further extension. But the EU has hit back at the Prime Minister, with one senior diplomat warning: "The EU's position hasn't changed - we want to negotiate a good deal with our close British neighbours.

“But if the UK limits its options prematurely, and sleepwalks into a no-deal at the end of 2020, the EU would be well-prepared, ready to mitigate the effects on its member states.”

Boris said: "The manifesto which delivered an 80-seat majority for the Prime Minister was explicit in ruling out any extension to the implementation period. "This is a Government determined to honour its promises to the British public, and get Brexit done.

Both the EU and the UK committed to agree the future partnership by the end of 2020 in the political declaration. "Now, with absolute clarity on the timetable we are working too, the UK and the EU will be able to get on with it and have a great future relationship wrapped up by December 2020."

The post-Brexit transition period can currently be extended by mutual agreement by up to two years. However, the Commons will vote on an amended Withdrawal Agreement Bill on Friday, which will rule out any extension.

The EU hopes to start the trade talks with Britain by March, while Britain said it wants to start as soon as possible. Trade deals usually take many years. The fastest major trade pact the EU ever concluded was with South Korea, reached in 2009 after two-and-a-half years of negotiation. It came into force nearly two years after that.

While Johnson's large majority gives him the flexibility to change the law if he needs to, he is sending a message to the EU - whose leaders have cautioned London that more time would be needed for a comprehensive trade deal.

The EU will have to limit talks on its future relationship with the United Kingdom to avoiding another cliff-edge, a senior EU official has warned.

Sabine Weyand, director-general of the EU's trade department, told a seminar organised by the EPC think tank in Brussels: "Given all the signals, we are well advised to take seriously that the UK does not intend to go for an extension of the transition and we need to be prepared for that.

"That means in the negotiations we have to look at those issues where failing to reach an agreement by 2020 would lead to another cliff-edge situation.”

European commission President Ursula von der Leyen has congratulated Boris Johnson on his general election victory, with the pair agreeing to work with "great energy" to agree a future partnership by the end of next year.

Following the telephone call on Tuesday morning, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The president congratulated the Prime Minister on his success in the election and they agreed to work together with great energy to agree a future partnership by December 2020."


No time to waste, says PM at the parliament

PM said: "Because this Parliament is not going to waste the time of the nation in deadlock and division and delay, on Friday of this week this Parliament is going to put the Withdrawal Agreement and then this new democratic Parliament, this people's Parliament is going to do something Mr Speaker.

"I wonder if you can guess what it is that this Parliament is going to do when we put the Withdrawal Agreement back. We're going to get Brexit done."

Boris Johnson will use the prospect of a no deal Brexit at the end of next year to push the European Union into handing him a comprehensive free trade deal within the next 12 months as the Government will this week add a new clause to the Brexit bill to make it illegal for Parliament to extend the process beyond the end of 2020.

A senior Government official said: “Our manifesto made clear that we will not extend the implementation period and the new Withdrawal Agreement Bill will legally prohibit government agreeing to any extension.”

By enshrining in law not to extend the transition period beyond December 2020, the Prime Minister is cutting the amount of time has to strike a deal from nearly three years.


No deal "almost guaranteed", warns EU official

One EU diplomat has said Boris Johnson's proposed deadline of the end of 2020 would leave both sides worse off.

Referring to World Trade Organization rules that kick into force in the absence of a full-fledged trade deal, the diplomat said: "Haste will come at the expense of services and security.

"This means we are pretty much guaranteed a WTO-style exit."

Gibraltar will "walk away" from any free trade which the UK strikes with the EU which offers Spain a say in the future of the British overseas territory, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has indicated, echoing Theresa May's claim "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Speaking in the Gibraltarian Parliament, Mr Picardo took the opportunity to congratulate Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his emphatic general election victory - while sounding a note of caution.

He said: "A lot remains to be negotiated.

"Depending on what progress has been made in those negotiations, there is an option for an extension of the transitional period beyond the end of December 2020."


Gove insists UK will get EU trade deal by end of 2020

Michael Gove has insisted the Government is committed to securing a trade deal with the European Union before the end of next year.

He told the BBC: "We are going to make sure that we get this deal done in time.

"We will get a deal, and the political declaration commits both sides to that."


EU diplomat warns UK not to “sleepwalk” into no deal Brexit


An EU diplomat has said the bloc will be ready for any eventuality at the end of 2020, but warned the UK against sleepwalking into a no deal Brexit.

They said: "The EU's position hasn't changed - we want to negotiate a good deal with our close British neighbours.

“But if the UK limits its options prematurely, and sleepwalks into a no-deal at the end of 2020, the EU would be well-prepared, ready to mitigate the effects on its member states.”

CBI pledges to help Johnson secure new trade deal with EU by end of 2020

Director General Carolyn Fairbairn said in statement: “Business has had enough of uncertainty and shares the Prime Minister’s ambition for a fast EU trade deal.

“With only a year to go, we are committed to working with the Government to secure an ambitious deal that supports all sectors of the economy.

“Every step in the negotiations will have an impact on jobs, firms and communities.

“Speed and ambition can go hand in hand if the right approach is taken. There’s no time to lose, with a top priority being to build a best-in-class trade architecture, with business round the table, enabling EU trade talks to begin early in the new year.

“Firms stand ready to bring the evidence needed from factories and boardrooms across the UK to enable a good trade deal to be agreed as quickly as possible.”

Boris's "rigid time frame" puts some aspects of trade deal "out of reach", warns EU Commission's Vice President

The end-2020 deadline set by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reach a deal on future EU-UK ties is “rigid” and will limit the scope of a free trade agreement between the two, EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis warned on Tuesday.

He told a news conference: “We are raising a concern that the period for negotiating a trade agreement is going to be very limited and it would be very problematic to hold negotiations and reach agreement on a comprehensive trade agreement.

“So we’ll need now to see what exactly can be achieved during such a time period.


Analysts concerned by Johnson's combative approach

Financial analysts have reacted with concern after Boris Johnson announced plans for legislation making it illegal to extend the process of Brexit beyond 2020.

David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB, said: "It has taken less than a week for the pound to complete a round trip, illustrating that political uncertainty has far from been eliminated and that two-way risks remain for sterling going forward."

Many in the markets had hoped the 80-seat majority would lead to a more nuanced approach by the Prime Minister to negotiating a trade deal with the EU, with some being surprised at the change of events.

Neil Wilson, city analyst at Markets.com, said: "I must confess to believing he wouldn't need to be so drastic, that a large majority offered the flexibility yet strength a government craves in deal-making.

"This sets up another cliff-edge and could create yet more months of uncertainty for investors just when we thought all was squared away."

"We haven’t even started those negotiations but this provides for a very rigid time frame, which reflects that certain things will be out of reach.”

Starmer brands Johnson "irresponsible"

Opposition parties have said that by ruling out any further Brexit delay, Mr Johnson was effectively reopening the prospect of an economically damaging no-deal break.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: "This is typical of the reckless and irresponsible behaviour we have come to expect from Boris Johnson's Government.

"The Tories have shown once again that they are prepared to put people's jobs at risk in pursuit of a hard Brexit."

Acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "This Tory Government's reckless approach to Brexit will send the country straight off the no-deal cliff.

"The only way Johnson can meet the December 2020 timetable is by giving up all his previous promises to Leave voters and agreeing to all the demands of the EU."


No comments

Poster Speaks

Poster Speaks/box

Trending

randomposts