London—Prime Minister Boris Johnson was Brussels-bound on Wednesday, with Britain’s fading hopes for a post-Brexit trade deal hanging on crisis talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Johnson’s dash back to the city where once he made his name as an EU-bashing newspaper reporter marks the last chance of a breakthrough before Britain leaves the EU single market.
Talks are blocked over the issue of fair competition, with Britain refusing to accept a mechanism to allow the EU to retaliate swiftly if the UK business regulations change in ways that put European firms at a disadvantage.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost have narrowed the gaps over eight months of talks, but London insists it will reclaim full sovereignty at the end of the year after half-a-century of close economic integration.
If Britain leaves the EU single market in three weeks without a follow-on trade deal the delays that travelers and freight will face at its borders with the European Union will be compounded by import tariffs that will drive up prices.
Johnson spoke to Von der Leyen on Monday by telephone to secure the last chance dinner invitation after Barnier and Frost’s negotiations broke off without agreement.
He will travel by plane and arrive late Wednesday for talks at the Berlaymont building, the EU headquarters he once wrongly reported was slated for demolition when he covered Brussels as a newspaper journalist in the early 1990s.
But officials on both sides expressed pessimism ahead of the last-ditch encounter.
“I am always hopeful, but I have to be honest with you, the situation at the moment is tricky,” Johnson said as he toured a London hospital on Tuesday.
“Our friends have to understand the UK has left the EU to exercise democratic control. We are a long way apart still,” he said. AFP
Barnier, meanwhile, gave a downbeat briefing to European ministers ahead of Thursday’s EU leaders summit, then tweeted: “We will never sacrifice our future for the present. Access to our market comes with conditions.”
A senior EU source said that Brussels needs Johnson to make decision to compromise.
“The sticking point in the negotiations is the equivalence clause requested by the EU to avoid distortions of competition if the UK refuses to align itself over time with EU tax, social and environmental standards,” he said.
But a UK government source warned: “We must be realistic that an agreement may not be possible, as we will not compromise on reclaiming UK sovereignty.”
The source added, however: “If we can make progress at a political level it may allow Lord Frost and his team to resume negotiations over the coming days.”
