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New Brexit round of negotiations starts with allegations

2020-06-02T18:23:09.951Z


Brexit is not without drama: For three rounds, talks about a partnership agreement came to a standstill after the UK left the EU. If things don't go ahead now, things get tight.


Brexit is not without drama: For three rounds, talks about a partnership agreement came to a standstill after the UK left the EU. If things don't go ahead now, things get tight.

London / Brussels (dpa) - Before the important round of negotiations on future relations, the European Union and Great Britain reproached each other.

"Britain has taken a step back - two or three steps back - from its original commitments," EU negotiator Michel Barnier told the Sunday Times. If Britain does not follow the wording of the autumn political declaration, there will be no agreement.

A spokesman for the British government, on the other hand, said on Monday that the EU must "further develop its position in order to reach agreement". London would not accept "unbalanced conditions" in a trade agreement. "We hope that the new round is constructive." She had to keep the process on track until the summit scheduled for June. Both sides also want to take stock of the situation there.

Negotiators from both sides begin their fourth round of negotiations on a trade and partnership agreement for the period after the Brexit transition phase on Tuesday. So far, neither side has seen decisive progress. This round is also particularly important because an agreement on the important topic of fishing rights is supposed to be reached by the end of June. The summit will then have to decide whether to extend the negotiation period by one or two years. So far, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been strictly against it.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged the Johnson government to agree to an extension. Britain cannot use "more chaos and uncertainty" in the Corona crisis, Khan wrote to Minister of State Michael Gove. "I urge the government to put political ideology aside." A House of Lords committee was also concerned about the sluggish negotiations and warned of a threat to Northern Ireland's economic prosperity and stability.

The key issues in the negotiations are above all the European Union's call for a level playing field, the issue of fisheries and the role of the European Court of Justice in possible disputes. In the Political Declaration of October both sides agreed on key points. Barnier accuses Britain of moving away from it. The British side denies this and, in turn, complains that the EU wants to bind the country closer to itself in the long term and submit to EU rules.

David McAllister, the European Parliament's Brexit representative, told the German press agency: "As the European Union, we are striving for a truly comprehensive and tailor-made agreement with our close partner, NATO allies and neighbors." However, the United Kingdom will no longer enjoy the same status as a member state. "There cannot and will not be cherry picking," said McAllister. An agreement by the end of the year is still possible. "But finally, concrete progress is needed."

Great Britain left the EU at the end of January. There is a transition phase until the end of the year, during which the country still belongs to the internal market and the customs union. If an agreement on future relations does not succeed within this period, tariffs and other trade restrictions would have to be introduced.

Report on the "Sunday Times" website

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-06-02

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