MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Boris Johnson will try to reignite post-Brexit trade talks by video with EU leaders, Monday
It is the first time Mr Johnson has personally taken part in the talks which began in March, just weeks after Britain left the EU on January 31 after 47 year British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet EU chiefs by video link Monday to try to breathe new life into stalled post-Brexit trade talks, with both sides entrenched in long-held positions.
The conference with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel will review progress in the talks on future EU/UK relations
It is the first time Mr Johnson has personally taken part in the talks which began in March, just weeks after Britain left the European Union on January 31 after 47 years in the European project.
While expectations are low for the long-planned meeting, the unpredictable Mr Johnson, who has recently recovered from a bout with the coronavirus, has EU negotiators on the lookout for any potential surprises.
Britain and the EU have held four rounds of talks on how to organize their ties after December 31, when the UK leaves the single market and stops adhering to Brussels' rules after an 11-month transition.
So far they have achieved little, giving Monday's meeting added significance. London and Brussels have already agreed to intensify negotiations, with mainly in-person talks through July and August.
Talks between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost have mostly taken place virtually due to the coronavirus
On Friday, Britain formally declared that it would not seek to extend the post-Brexit transition by one or two years, something it could have done according to the terms of the divorce deal Mr Johnson signed last year.
Britain has firmly rejected calls by the EU that it commit to European standards overseen by EU law to keep open access to the single market - something Brussels says would maintain a “level playing field”.
On Friday, the UK said that whatever the outcome of the talks, British customs officers would not be ready to deal with new rules at their ports or borders on January 1. UK border checks will therefore be applied with a “light-touch” for the first months after the new year as Britain readies itself for post-Brexit trade ties.
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Read all commentsHmmmmmmm....
Jun 15th, 2020 - 04:24 pm 0Boris'es sudden interest in talking to the EU wouldn't 'ave anything to do with that Continental €750B recovery package..., would it...?
Baaad timing , leaving the Gentlemans Club..., laddies...
Highly unlikely. A trade deal isn't going to include being part of the EU recovery package, and if the UK government want their own version they can borrow money themselves rather than the EU do it for them.
Jun 16th, 2020 - 10:39 am 0Besides, this current UK government is so ideologically driven they even refused to take part in the EU plan to get PPE, though it would have made practical sense. They're not going to change their minds now.
“Proposed” “€750B recovery package”, far, far from being agreed, never mind how to spend/pay for it, oh, nor the next 6 year MMF, big increase and all minus the second biggest contributor.
Jun 16th, 2020 - 12:21 pm 0Only place to be on Jan 1st is out.
It will be interesting to watch how they fund the program, if agreed. If they do go the route of EU sovereign debt, it would save more contributions from the richer nations, solve some problems that way.
However it would be tempting then to solve a lot of financial/spending problems that way, for about 10-20 years or so, until you max out the credit card. Just before the next crash/pandemic hits.
On the one hand I can’t see the frugals going for it, on the other hand I can’t see how they can do it any other way, without eye watering increases in contributions and/or very big cuts everywhere else.
Glad it’s no longer our problem really.
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