Another Brexit deadline is approaching, Johnson’s eyes on EU summit

Another Brexit deadline is in sight and an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom does not seem within reach for the time being. There must be a Brexit deal on 31 October, so that the European Parliament has time to discuss the deal before the British sever all ties with the EU on 31 December. Today, an EU summit with government leaders will start in Brussels, where Brexit is also on the agenda.

To increase the pressure on the negotiations, Prime Minister Johnson set his own deadline last month on October 15, today. If there was no agreement then, he said, he no longer expected an agreement and would stop the negotiations.

“Johnson wanted to be tough with that statement,” says correspondent Tim de Wit in it NOS Radio 1 News. “Demonstrate to his supporters that he cannot be fooled. Yet he has become famous in recent times for setting deadlines that he subsequently does not meet. For example, he said last year that he would rather end up in a ditch than Brexit. postpone again, and then postpone Brexit again. “

Johnson has meanwhile heard from his negotiator David Frost that there is still a prospect of an agreement within two weeks, says De Wit. “Frost will advise him not to pull the plug yet. Johnson seems to bend with that advice.”

Bomb under negotiation

Johnson recorded a victory last month in the British House of Commons, where a large majority agreed to a bill that contradicts the agreements made with the EU. The prime minister is especially against the chest that Northern Ireland must continue to adhere to EU rules according to the agreements, so that the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland can remain open.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed her concerns about the bill, saying the law would violate international law. According to De Wit, the bill makes it clear that Johnson is on a collision course. “He thinks the EU should move in his direction.”

Decision after EU summit

The British Prime Minister informed von der Leyen yesterday that he is disappointed with the progress that has been made in the talks over the past two weeks. According to his spokesman, he will take a decision on the progress of the negotiations after the EU summit: “The Prime Minister is curious about the outcome of the European Council and will consider this before announcing the next steps of the United Kingdom.”

De Wit thinks Johnson will again get away with ignoring his own deadline. “There is another corona wave and Brexit has long been out of the front pages in Great Britain, so he can afford not to stick to it. There is also still plenty of time: the new relationship must between the European Union and the United Kingdom. “

However, there are still two persistent bottlenecks in the negotiations. “The most important thing is fishing: it hardly represents anything economically, but politically it is very sensitive. After Brexit, the Dutch and French fishermen want to have the same access to British waters as they do now, the British think that is not negotiable. Secondly. there is the level playing field of rules. The EU says if you want to keep access to our market, you have to follow our rules. The British don’t want that. “

So much depends on what is decided at the EU summit. “The government leaders have to decide whether they are willing to compromise, or whether they will continue to be tough with the chance that everything will still go wrong.”

EU leaders: continue discussions

European leaders will discuss Brexit over dinner tonight. To date, they have left the negotiations to Michel Barnier, who will also report. The leaders’ preliminary conclusions state that Barnier should continue and intensify the talks. The expectation among diplomats is not that Barnier will be given a mandate to accommodate the British more.

For the time being, the negotiations are deadlocked, is the conclusion on the European side. There is, however, cautious talk of an extra EU summit somewhere in mid-November to get the negotiations going.

–