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Brexit, Johnson: “Britain ready for a no deal if the EU does not change radically”

Johnson: “Don’t be afraid, the country will prosper enormously”

Johnson in September asked the EU to find a solution by the European summit which ends today (Friday, October 16): but both London and Brussels remained on their positions and at this point the margins for reaching an agreement become very narrow. An agreement in extremis remains possible and both sides say they continue to hope for it: but unless a miracle occurs, the no deal at this point it becomes the most likely scenario. In recent months, the British and Europeans have been engaged in fruitless negotiations to draft a free trade agreement: on December 31st Brexit will materialize (which already took place formally on January 31st) and in the absence of a new treaty, the two sides will return to trade only on the basis of the rules of the WTO, the World Trade Organization, which provide for the application of duties. We must not be afraid of this prospect, Johnson said, on the contrary Great Britain could “prosper enormously”: but it will be necessary to put emergency mini-agreements to make sure essential services, such as air transport, continue to function.

The question of fishing

Johnson’s announcement could be an extreme move to force the EU to surrender: he has not formally abandoned the negotiation, but the positions remain so far apart that it is not clear how we can find a point of agreement. In recent days the question of fishing emerged as an insurmountable obstacle: London no longer agrees to give free access to European fishing vessels in its waters, but Macron, who defends the interests of French fishermen, has put his foot down and refused to come to terms. Added to this is the dispute over state aid, with respect to which London wants to have a free hand, without being subject to European directives. More generally, the British want to completely get out of the regulatory orbit of the EU, while Brussels wants to keep them hooked for fear of being subjected to unfair competition: a “philosophical distance between the two positions that has proved impossible to bridge. At this point, there are only two and a half means left to prepare for no deal: which will be a shock for the British economy, but also for the European ones. The British government thinks it will probably be just a drop in the tsunami of the recession triggered by Covid: but for many sectors the fracture will still be painful.


16 October 2020 (change October 16, 2020 | 14:14)

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