Confusion reigns over UK-EU post-Brexit trade talks
There is deep confusion over the status of UK-EU trade talks after Downing Street said that talks are “over”.
This followed Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s earlier statement that the UK must “get ready” to trade next year without an agreement with the European Union.
But crucially, unlike the Downing Street spokesperson, Johnson did not say that talks have concluded.
According to the Downing Street statement, there is now “no point” in continuing discussions next week unless the EU was prepared to discuss the “detailed legal text” of a post-Brexit partnership.
Meanwhile, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, Lord David Frost, said he had communicated to his EU counterpart, Michel Barneir, that there was now no “basis” for planned talks on Monday (October 19).
Frost’s intervention came on the heels of EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s tweet that an EU negotiating team would visit London “after the weekend” with a view to “intensifying” discussions.
🇪🇺-🇬🇧 talks: the EU continues to work for a deal, but not at any price.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 16, 2020
As planned, our negotiation team will go to London next week to intensify these negotiations.
In another development, France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, told BBC Newsnight that despite the EU not being prepared to chase a deal at any cost, they were still willing “to listen to what the UK side wants to say to us”.
Johnson had identified last week’s EU summit as the deadline for both sides to thrash out a deal.
The PM has consistently suggested the EU is deeply reluctant to consider the UK’s preferred option of a comprehensive free trade agreement based on the bloc’s existing arrangement with Canada.
Indeed, talks have hit a deadlock over major disagreements on fishing rights and state help for businesses.
In view of this deadlock, there is now a very high chance the UK will look at “alternatives” – to quote the PM – notably Australia’s more modest set of arrangements with the EU.
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