Britain and the European union agree on an end of year deadline for trade talks

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Britain and the European union have both signed up to a deadline of the end of this year to conclude trade talks, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday after EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan issued a warning reiterating that there would be no extension to the end of the year deadline.

The EU’s trade EU trade commissioner, Phil Hogan issued a warning accusing Boris Johnson of Brexit “brinkmanship”, asserting that the British prime minister’s approach to negotiations was creating uncertainty for business.

Trade commissioner Phil Hogan said that Mr Johnson’s proclivity not to protract Britain’s post-Brexit transition period beyond the end of this year had “unwisely” created an end of 2020 deadline for the EU and UK to come up with a mutually beneficial and acceptable trade deal.

Speaking at an event in Washington DC, he cautioned that the short timeframe “puts enormous pressure on the UK system, and then of course on the EU system” to meet the deadline.

Mr. Hogan further warned that it would be legally cumbersome, if not impossible, for Britain to change its mind and request an extension later on, even if it became evident to both sides that more time was needed.

“We need to wake up to this reality that gamesmanship and brinkmanship is not going to work on this occasion,” he warned.

The EU holds firm on the view that it will prove impossible to construct a full future relationship with the UK in the 11 months between Brexit day and the end of this year, when the standstill arrangements created by the transition period will expire.

British officials have dismissed warnings from Brussels viewing them as negotiating tactics engineered to lure the UK into requesting an extension, which would result in Britain making extra contributions to the EU budget and applying all European law despite being outside the EU.

The UK argues that Brussels is misrepresenting the situation, since the 2020 deadline is enshrined in the divorce deal that the EU first negotiated with the former UK prime minister, Theresa May, and then with Mr. Johnson, and so is not a British invention.

Mr Johnson has been adamant that there will be no extension to the deadline, and has gone so far as to ask parliament to ban him from seeking one.

A Downing Street spokesman said that both sides had agreed to the timetable in the Political Declaration, on Thursday, adding: “The Prime Minister has been clear on this throughout there will be no extension to that.”

Mr Hogan stressed that under the terms of its Brexit divorce deal Britain had till the end of June to request an extension to the transition period, adding that the timeframe had created a “cliff edge ” that was “not exactly helpful to the business community”.

Speaking via video link at an event in London earlier in the day, Mr Hogan said that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s conclusion from meeting Mr Johnson last week was that “we have to prioritise” as it is “just not possible” to conclude a full deal by the end of this year.

“We should not pencil ourselves into timelines again,” he said. “They are not helpful.”

Mr Hogan suggested, that because of the need to prioritise in the negotiations, “security and defence may have to wait until 2021” while economic issues “will be centre stage from the word go.”

The comments contradict statements from other senior EU figures, including chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who has insisted that the security partnership will be one of the EU’s top priorities in the talks.

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