- 04 Dec 2020 21:02
#15141102
It's come to what it always had to come to. There are still fundamental differences between the EU and the UK just days before the UK is crashing out off the transition period to face customs barriers to its most important export market.
Even if there were an agreement, it's now virtually impossible to get approval from 28 governments in addition to the EU commission and ratification by nearly 30 different parliaments.
Reverting to WTO terms is detrimental to both sides. That's why Johnson played Russian roulette with the UK economy in the belief that the EU will cave in in the last minute. But to the EU the integrity of the common market is more important than a trade deal with the UK.
Nobody trusts Johnson at this point. He has demonstrated that he is willing to violate the agreements entered into by the UK. The UK negotiated in bad faith by first pretending to aspire to a close frictionless trade relationship and by then turning around by rejecting the regulatory agreements necessary for such a close relationship. He wants to eat his cake and have it too. The recent vaccine fiasco shows that his government is willing to screw the EU (and everybody else) even about totally insignificant issues for a symbolic political coup. His manners may be more refined, but at heart he's the true successor of Donald Trump.
My bet is on a no-deal Brexit accompanied by a series of mini-deals regulating different sectors so as to prevent chaos in the relations between the UK and the single market. These mini-deals can be cancelled unilaterally whenever one party feels that they are no longer necessary or that the other side is cheating.
Post-Brexit trade talks paused amid 'significant divergences'
Even if there were an agreement, it's now virtually impossible to get approval from 28 governments in addition to the EU commission and ratification by nearly 30 different parliaments.
Reverting to WTO terms is detrimental to both sides. That's why Johnson played Russian roulette with the UK economy in the belief that the EU will cave in in the last minute. But to the EU the integrity of the common market is more important than a trade deal with the UK.
Nobody trusts Johnson at this point. He has demonstrated that he is willing to violate the agreements entered into by the UK. The UK negotiated in bad faith by first pretending to aspire to a close frictionless trade relationship and by then turning around by rejecting the regulatory agreements necessary for such a close relationship. He wants to eat his cake and have it too. The recent vaccine fiasco shows that his government is willing to screw the EU (and everybody else) even about totally insignificant issues for a symbolic political coup. His manners may be more refined, but at heart he's the true successor of Donald Trump.
My bet is on a no-deal Brexit accompanied by a series of mini-deals regulating different sectors so as to prevent chaos in the relations between the UK and the single market. These mini-deals can be cancelled unilaterally whenever one party feels that they are no longer necessary or that the other side is cheating.
Post-Brexit trade talks paused amid 'significant divergences'
Talks to reach a post-Brexit trade deal have been paused, because UK and EU negotiators say "significant divergences" remain.
Michel Barnier and David Frost said conditions for a deal between the two sides have not been met.
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and PM Boris Johnson will discuss the situation on Saturday.
State aid subsidies, fishing and enforcement of new rules remain the key sticking points in negotiations.
If a deal is not agreed by 31 December, the two sides will trade on World Trade Organization rules, meaning the introduction of taxes on imports.
Releasing identical statements on Twitter, Mr Barnier and Lord Frost said: "After one week of intense negotiation in London, the two chief negotiators agreed today that the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field, governance and fisheries.
"On this basis, they agreed to pause the talks in order to brief their principals on the state of play of the negotiations."
A senior UK government source told BBC News the statement shows how far apart both sides are and that the trade talks have run into problems.
Earlier, Boris Johnson's spokesman said the government was "committed to working hard to try and reach agreement" but emphasised that the UK couldn't "agree a deal that doesn't allow us to take back control".
He added that "time is in very short supply and we are at a very difficult point in talks".
The Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said it was important for the 27 EU member states to give negotiators "the space to conclude these talks". He added that he "fervently hoped" a trade deal can be agreed.
Meanwhile, France's Europe minister, Clement Beaune, warned that his country could "veto" a deal if it did not satisfy their demands.
The European Parliament would need to ratify any deal before it can be implemented and UK MPs are likely to get the chance to vote on legislation implementing the agreement.
And the 27 EU national parliaments could also need to ratify an agreement - depending on the actual contents of the deal.