The corona pandemic would have been enough to destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs in Great Britain.
But the country is also in the middle of Brexit.
A deal on the trade pact could help.
After
Brexit
, the
EU
and
Great Britain are
still fighting for a
trade agreement
.
Time is running out: on January 1, 2021, the "
no-deal Brexit
"
threatens
.
The
ports
in
England
are already overloaded.
Update from Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020, 10.55 a.m.: Great Britain
is currently fighting on two fronts.
The new coronavirus variant hits the country at a time when it is also dealing with another challenge of the century.
The pandemic
and
Brexit
mean that uncertainty in Great Britain is currently very high.
Boris Johnson
remains an optimist.
The Prime Minister never tires of stressing that the British economy will "flourish" outside the EU.
The prognoses of the supervisory authority speak a different language: In its current prognosis, it assumes
7.5 percent unemployed in Great Britain by the
middle of next year - provided that quick vaccinations herald the beginning of the end of the Corona era.
In the event of a
no-deal Brexit
, the forecast was even more than 8 percent.
The unemployment rate is currently just under five percent, at the beginning of the pandemic it was still under four percent.
With 10,000s of UK jobs on the line, Boris Johnson & Grant Shapps were asked whether there would be a Brexit Deal.
They laughed.
Johnson kept smirking while answering.
Dont forget: Even if there's a deal, jobs will still go.
So the laughing ... That's not confidence.
That's evil.
pic.twitter.com/gtUG1PUqsA
- Femiđ· (@Femi_Sorry) December 21, 2020
Solution to the Brexit dispute in sight?
Breakthrough in fishing rights is expected
But maybe there will be a solution to the
Brexit dispute
after all
.
At least one and a half weeks before the
end of the Brexit transition
phase, speculation is growing about an imminent breakthrough in the question of future access for EU fishing trawlers to British waters.
A
last-minute Brexit trade pact
no longer seems to be ruled out.
Allegedly, the
fishing rights of the EU fishing trawlers
are to be gradually reduced by 35 percent over a period of five years.
The British will still have the option of
bringing
their
fish
to the European market duty-free.
This is to be accompanied by the possibility for Brussels to introduce tariffs in the event that the British further restrict access for fishermen from the EU - but only at an independently determined level.
Brexit talks: The "no deal scenario" threatens from January 1st
According to the "Financial Times", EU circles confirmed that there had been a similar offer from London.
On the British side, however, according to the newspaper, the positions were still "far apart" and the talks were "brutally complicated".
Negotiators on both sides wanted to continue the recently stalled
Brexit talks
, as both sides said.
Failure to reach an agreement threatens a
âno-dealâ scenario
where tariffs and other trade barriers at the UK's borders will become a reality from January 1st.
Cut travel connections between Great Britain and the rest of Europe due to the fear of the spread of the mutated variant of the coronavirus, which has so far mainly been found in southern England, are already providing a foretaste of this.
According to
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
, the movement of goods should resume as soon as possible.
However, he did not give a date.
+
Boris Johnson is still optimistic.
© afp / TOLGA AKMEN
Brexit: EU Parliament considers legal confirmation of a possible deal to be no longer feasible
Update from Monday, December 21, 2020, 4:14 p.m.:
Ten days before the end of the
Brexit
transition period, a disorderly exit of
Great Britain
from the European single market is becoming more and more likely.
The negotiators on both sides continued their talks on a
trade agreement
in Brussels on Monday (December 21, 2020)
, but the EU Parliament declared that the timely
ratification of
a possible deal was no longer feasible.
Time is also running out for the provisional application of a possible agreement.
Political games from Westminster have wasted too much time.
It is now impossible for Parliament to assess a deal before the end of the year.
We will not rubber-stamp any text, it is too important.
As the only directly elected EU body, we should not rush our decision.
#Brexit
- Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) December 21, 2020
A
deadline
set by the EU Parliament
for a finished text expired on
Sunday evening
.
"It is now impossible for parliament to evaluate a deal before the end of the year," said the head of the Conservatives, Manfred Weber (CSU).
There will be no more
ratification
within the transition phase, emphasized the chairman of the trade committee, Bernd Lange (SPD).
Should an agreement be reached in the coming days, it could possibly come into force provisionally and only be ratified afterwards.
However, time is running out for this too: EU circles said that a provisional application of an agreement from January 1st would only be feasible if
an agreement
was
reached by Christmas
.
Brexit: Provisional agreement is considered likely
Even for a provisional entry into force of an agreement, a few days are
necessary
for
legal examinations
and translations.
Despite everything, this preliminary application is now classified as the most likely scenario, at least in the EU Parliament, according to information from the AFP news agency.
A renewed
extension of the transition period
would be "the best," said the SPD politician Lange.
But this is considered highly unlikely.
Great Britain ruled out any postponement in the summer after
Brexit
had been delayed several times by months.
+
A spokesman in the Netherlands in a parking lot that is considered a parking space for truck drivers after the Brexit transition period.
© Peter Dejong / dpa
Brexit: No deal âbecause of fishâ the most likely outcome
+++ 9.30 p.m.:
In the talks about a
Brexit trade pact
between
Great Britain
and the
EU
, a breakthrough is still a long way off.
"The negotiations remain difficult, and there are still clear differences," said British government circles in the evening.
Negotiations are expected to continue this Monday.
"We continue to examine every way to an agreement" - but this must be in accordance with British principles, it said.
Especially
fishing rights
are central to the debate, but also
a level playing field
are a sticking point.
The
European Parliament
had set a final deadline of late evening.
By then, a completed commercial contract must be available, because otherwise the MPs would not have enough time to examine.
In London, however, it was said that the only deadline was December 31st.
Struggle for Brexit trade pact: Hancock expects movement from the EU
Update from Sunday, December 20th, 2020, 12.30 p.m.:
The ping-pong game continues on Sunday (December 20th, 2020).
British Health
Secretary Matt Hancock
said on Sky News on Sunday that he was sure an agreement could be reached with the EU.
It is now up to the EU to "get things moving" because it has made "unreasonable demands," added Hancock.
+
At the British ports (here in front of Dover) the trucks have been jammed for weeks.
© Gareth Fuller / dpa
Brexit: No deal âbecause of fishâ the most likely outcome
+++ 9:55 p.m.:
According to diplomatic
information, the
EU has now made a final offer on the fisheries issue to Great Britain.
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson will
ultimately have to decide on this.
If Britain rejects the offer, "we get a no deal on fish," said a diplomat.
+++ 7:55 p.m.:
In their negotiations on a Brexit trade pact, Great Britain and the EU are still clearly apart.
"The most likely result" is currently a no deal, it was said on Saturday evening from negotiating circles.
"We will turn every stone to bring about a deal." But there are still "significant open questions" about fishing and subsidies.
"The negotiations continue, but we are still far apart."
Brexit renegotiations: "Sunday is finally a shift in the shaft"
First report from December 19, 2020:
London - There are still 12 days until the end of the
Brexit
transition
phase, i.e.
until Britain's economic break with the EU after almost half a century.
In a âlast attemptâ
on Friday (December 18, 2020)
the
European Union
and
Great Britain
tried
to get
a
Brexit trade pact
through.
Post-Brexit negotiations: the âmoment of truthâ is drawing closer
"We are at the moment of truth," said EU negotiator
Michel Barnier
in the European Parliament.
There were only âa few hoursâ left for talks if a trade agreement were to come into force on January 1st.
The desired agreement should avoid tariffs and cushion the consequences for the economy, authorities and citizens.
Alone: ââBarnier was still unable to say on Friday whether it would ever come about.
There is a chance, but the path to get there is very narrow.
Incidentally, Barnier's spokesman Dan Ferrie did not want to say what âa few hoursâ
mean
in the
Brexit
negotiations and whether the negotiators could really be ready by Sunday.
Negotiations are in progress, he just said.
The British Minister of State Michael Gove had already indicated on Thursday that this could continue until after Christmas - regardless of protests from the European Parliament.
It was not the first time in the now excruciatingly long negotiations between
Great Britain
and the
EU
over
Britain's exit from
the
EU
that Barnier invoked a lack of time and urgency.
He's been doing this for months.
In the meantime, however, it is not only the calendar that suggests that things are getting really serious.
The EU's patience has long since run out, as the MEPs made clear in the debate.
âSunday is the final shift in the shaft,â said SPD
Brexit
expert Bernd Lange.
Parliament set the final deadline on Sunday, midnight: either a treaty has been in place by then or it can no longer be ratified in time.
Then come plan B, said Lange.
Post-Brexit negotiations: the "no-deal Brexit" threatens
There are different variants of this plan: Negotiations are continued and, in the event of a breakthrough, a provisional agreement is put into effect before the end of the year, i.e. initially without ratification.
Or you can agree on a period of a few weeks during which the status quo will continue to apply after January 1st, according to a proposal by Green Group leader Philippe Lamberts.
If this does not happen either, there would only be a hard break without a contract, the â
no-deal Brexit
â.
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson now
sees the end of the negotiations, but remains tough on the matter.
"Our door is open," said Johnson on a visit to Bolton, northwest England.
âWe will continue to talk, but I have to say that things look difficult.â The EU must âaccept reason and come to the table with something itselfâ.
Now it is Brussels' turn.
"We hope that our EU friends will come to their senses and put something on the negotiating table of their own accord," said Johnson.
Post-Brexit negotiations: the crux of the matter is fishing rights in British waters
The main points of contention for months have been fair competition, the control of a future agreement and fishing rights for EU fishermen in British waters.
While there has been significant progress recently on the first two sticking points, the fisheries question remained difficult.
In this final stretch of talks, transparency & unity are important as ever: Debriefed @Europarl_EN Conference of Presidents this morning on đȘđșđŹđ§ negotiations.
Good progress, but last stumbling blocks remain.
We will only sign a deal protecting EU interests & principles.
pic.twitter.com/L25PWCKYAG
- Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) December 17, 2020
With reference to its sovereignty as a coastal state,
Great Britain is
calling for EU fishermen to be able to withdraw access to their waters that may have been promised at this point in time, said Barnier.
"The EU must then also have its sovereign right to be able to react" - for example by restricting British companies' access to the European internal market.
Brexit: Already now chaos at the British ports
The kilometer-long truck traffic jams at the British entrance to the Eurotunnel under the English Channel meanwhile give
a
foretaste of
a
no-deal
Brexit
.
The reasons for the increased freight volume are the Christmas business and the need for medical goods in the
coronavirus pandemic
, but also the increase in many warehouses before the end of the Brexit transition phase, explained the Eurotunnel operator Getlink at the request of the news agency dpa.
British ports have also been overloaded for weeks.
It looks like a lot of people are still taking their chance - who knows what's in two weeks.
From a London perspective, the
UK
has
already made concessions on the two most difficult areas: fair competition and fishing rights for EU fishermen in British waters.
Barnier said on Friday quite clearly what it still depends on.
(skr with agencies)
List of rubric lists: © afp / TOLGA AKMEN