UK, EU to carry disaster talks once more with days till Brexit deadline | Boris Johnson Information

The UK Prime Minister and top EU official face a crisis as fierce talks over a post-Brexit trade deal drag on.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to hold another crisis call as post-Brexit talks on a trade deal between the UK and the European Union get to the heart of the matter.

The couple are scheduled to speak on Wednesday or Thursday. Sources within the bloc told Reuters News Agency to resolve ongoing disagreements over fishing rights and competition rules.

Both sides are keen to avert a tumultuous divorce later this year if the transition period to Brexit ends on December 31st.

But while they say they are interested in reaching an agreement on future trade relations by then, negotiations have stalled since Britain formally left the EU on January 31.

There was speculation on Wednesday that a deal might be announced immediately. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin suggested that overall an agreement might be brokered rather than not, despite a “large” gap over fish that still separate the couple.

“All in all, given the progress made, I think there should be a deal,” Martin told national broadcaster RTE.

“A no-deal would be a terrible shock to the economic system on top of COVID-19.”

“Serious Disagreements”

British officials also expressed hope that an agreement could be reached, but warned that significant divisions continued to hamper talks.

“I am still somewhat optimistic, but there is no news for you this morning,” said housing secretary Robert Jenrick to the British broadcaster Sky News.

“There are still the same serious disagreements, whether it is fishing or a level playing field,” he added. “At the moment there is not enough progress. It is not a deal that the Prime Minister can sign us to. “

Johnson, who is also grappling with a worsening COVID-19 outbreak and border crisis in Europe’s busiest truck port, has claimed Britain will “take advantage of all the opportunities Brexit offers” and “thrive” with or without a trade deal.

However, the British financial watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), has forecast a long-term decline in national economic output of four percent, which can be attributed to Britain’s exit from the EU, even in the event of a free trade agreement.

A no-deal scenario, according to which the UK and the EU would have to break the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from January 1, would reduce the UK’s economic performance by another two percent in 2021 and boost inflation, unemployment and inflation public borrowing according to OBR.

WTO rules would bring financial tariffs, quotas and other regulatory trade barriers into play and potentially affect hundreds of billions of pounds worth of annual trade between the UK and the EU.

A deal would mean a less chaotic split, but both sides have yet to seal an agreement that will be approved by their respective parliaments.

The UK Parliament would likely sign a deal before the end of the year, given Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party has a strong majority in the legislature.

On the EU side, however, things are more complicated: the heads of state and government of the 27 member states have to approve an agreement before it is submitted to the European Parliament for approval.

It is not clear whether there will be enough time to complete this process before December 31st, despite the fact that EU law contains a provision on the provisional signature and application of agreements without the consent of Parliament.