Post-Brexit trade deal talks continue despite 'big differences' remaining
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Dec 20, 2020
The committee heard evidence that the estimated 50,000 private sector customs agents needed to deal with additional red tape caused by Brexit will not be fully recruited and trained by the end of the year. I can not say what will come during this last home straight of negotiations.
Last weekend, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to extend Brexit negotiations on a trade deal, although the sides remain at odds over such issues as governance, fishing rights, and the set of rules to "level the playing field" for businesses.
Sterling fell yesterday, reversing some of its recent gains, after Mr Barnier's warning of time running out to reach the trade deal.
Access by European fishermen - besides the Dutch, especially Danes and French - to large parts of the North Sea, The Irish Sea and a part of the Atlantic is crucial for the EU to conclude a trade agreement.
In a bid to unlock the stalemate in post-Brexit trade talks, Johnson and von der Leyen have made several phone conversations instead of face-to-face discussions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Less than two weeks before Brexit Day on 31 December, an influential group of MPs expressed significant concern about the country's readiness to leave the EU.
While Barnier said the sides were striving at an agreement, he said the 27-nation bloc would not sign a deal that would undercut its cherished single market of 450 million consumers.
The UK will also lose access to key agreements such as the European Arrest Warrant, which allows a criminal suspected by one state to be arrested in any other, while a new bilateral agreement with the EU is "unlikely" to be ready in time, the report said.
The economics editor of the Sunday Times David Smith told the programme there doesn't seem to be much left to settle but settling what's left, such as fishing, is "politically difficult".
HBO Max On Roku Is Now Available For The Audience
Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch, and YouTube were all available at launch, but HBO Max was still negotiated. Other Roku users can look for the app in the "New and Notable" and "Movies & TV" categories of the Roku channel store .
And in a readout of the call, Downing Street said the Prime Minister warned it looked "very likely" a deal would not be agreed unless the bloc shifted its stance.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the chances of a breakthrough are "looking difficult".
"Obviously the UK's position is always that we want to keep talking if there's any chance of a deal".
If the deal passes, he said, British companies trading in other areas would "remain stable in their rights", but European Union fishing crews could lose out.
A failure to reach a post-Brexit deal would lead to more chaos on the borders at the start of 2021 as new tariffs would add to other impediments to trade enacted by both sides.
If the there is no deal by the December 31, the United Kingdom will leave the single market and customs union and begin trading with the EU on World Trade Organisation terms - with the imposition of tariffs potentially leading to higher prices in the shops.
He said a deal would present opportunities for everyone on the island of Ireland.
European Union powers are concerned Britain wants the best of both worlds - preferential access to lucrative European Union markets, with the advantage of setting its own rules.
A government spokesperson said: "We're pleased that the committee has welcomed our pragmatic and flexible approach to staged border controls, as well as our detailed Border Operating Model and landmark agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which provides stability and security for Northern Ireland".
