Published 13:43 IST, December 14th 2020
EU welcomes Brexit trade talks extension, but stress unity to protect its single market
EU has welcomed news of Brexit trade talks extension, but they have also insisted that the bloc was united in its determination to protect its single market.
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The European Union leaders have welcomed the news of Brexit trade talks extension, however, they have also insisted that the bloc was united in its determination to protect its single market. On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while speaking at Brussels, had said that the UK and the EU negotiations would “go the extra mile” to find an agreement that would guarantee Britain zero tariff, zero-quota access to the EU’s internal market after what she described as a useful phone call with Boris Johnson. In a televised statement, she said that both the sides have discussed major unresolved topics and the negotiating teams are now working to see whether an agreement can be reached.
Following her remarks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that everything should be done to reach an agreement that would avert a chaotic and economically damaging no deal. While speaking in Berlin, she said that every opportunity to reach a deal is “highly welcome". Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, also said that he believed a deal was “clearly very difficult,” however, he added that it was within reach providing both sides held their nerve.
Further, while speaking to SkyNews, Spain’s EU and foreign affairs minister, Arancha González Laya, also said that UK’s insistence on asserting that UK’s sovereignty was an unnecessary obstacle in the talks. She said that the UK and the EU are interdependent which is why the two sides need a deal that manages that interdependence. Charles Michel, who is the President of the European Council of EU he’s of state and government also said that the bloc would “keep its cool” and do all it could to make a deal possible.
He said, “We must support a good deal”. Michel even went on to stress that it would be impossible to put a “cigarette paper” between the member states on the key issue. He said that the EU is reasonable and they want to maintain close relations with Britain. But the block also wants to preserve and protect the single market, he said.
Brexit trade talks
Meanwhile, the UK and the EU had set a deadline of Sunday to decide whether the negotiations should be abandoned, however, now they have decided to step back from the brink. So far, there is no sign of a decisive breakthrough on the flashpoint of fair competition rules and fishing rights, leaving open the prospect of a no-deal outcome. Neither side has been willing to walk away from the negotiating table and they have been risking the blame for the huge disruption to borders and to economies from no agreed trading terms.
British officials have dismissed negotiations as reaching "difficult points" as the UK still hasn't reach common ground with EU for a post-Brexit trade agreement with respect to fisheries activities, freedom of competition, handling of future relations, and police and judicial cooperation on criminal matters. Johnson stated that it was "very, very, very likely" that the talks on the Brexit negotiations would fail as the UK leaves the EU single market and customs union. This would mean that the UK will stand compliant to World Trade Organisation 1995 terms that are likely to surge business tariffs once the transition period concludes. As per reports, tariffs will hit the UK’s deal governing almost $1 trillion of annual trade.
13:45 IST, December 14th 2020