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Brexit talks: the long search for the thin compromise

2020-08-18T06:16:19.784Z


So far, the talks about a deal after Brexit have been like a sailing ship in calm winds. Even so, many believe that a compromise will still be reached in the talks that continue this week. But it could be narrow.


So far, the talks about a deal after Brexit have been like a sailing ship in calm winds. Even so, many believe that a compromise will still be reached in the talks that continue this week. But it could be narrow.

Brussels / London (dpa) - Deal or No Deal, that was the question in the Brexit talks for a long time. At the end of July, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said it was unlikely that there would be an agreement for the time after the Brexit transition phase.

Not everyone is that pessimistic. But just under four and a half months before the deadline expires, hopes that it could become a comprehensive contract are fading.

Barnier will kick off the latest round on Tuesday evening at a dinner with his British counterpart David Frost in Brussels. The sticking points of the talks are still the demands of the European Union for a level playing field and for a "balanced" fisheries agreement.

Britain left the EU at the end of January after almost half a century. The country is still part of the EU internal market and the customs union until the end of the year. A follow-up agreement is now being negotiated, otherwise there is a risk of a hard economic break with tariffs and trade barriers.

The EU offers a trade agreement that would allow the UK to export its goods to the internal market without tariffs or quantity restrictions. To this end, Brussels demands the same high environmental and social standards as well as uniform rules for economic development in order to avoid distortions of competition. The key word here is "Level Playing Field". Great Britain rejects the EU's demands on this.

When it comes to fishing, Great Britain intends to set the fishing quotas in its waters from year to year so that the domestic fleet can better benefit. Fishermen from EU countries who depend on the particularly rich British waters are said to be backing off. Brussels, on the other hand, wants everything to stay the same.

But even if an agreement is reached in the coming months, many other areas will likely remain unresolved, believes political scientist Anand Menon from King's College in London. "The EU provides the framework for transnational cooperation on issues such as foreign policy, defense, dealing with terrorism and organized crime. It is difficult to imagine how unity can be achieved everywhere in the remaining time," Menon recently wrote in a guest article in the "London Review of Books".

The British exit from the internal market and customs union will in no way remain without consequences for trade. The government in London assumes that British companies will face billions in costs every year due to the increased administrative burden involved in the movement of goods. For example, because in the future a certificate of origin will have to be provided for goods that are exported to the EU.

Experts fear that small and medium-sized companies in particular are hardly prepared for the changes. They accuse the government in London of spreading cheerful videos with the message that the end of the transition phase will now bring great new opportunities instead of education. In addition, many companies now have completely different concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although the British government continues to downplay the consequences of Brexit to the outside world, it recently bought 11 hectares of land in the Dover hinterland. A huge parking lot is to be created there in order to avoid traffic jams on the motorways if documents are not properly filled out or controls have to be carried out.

Medical device suppliers in the country have been asked to stockpile. The aim is to keep medicines and other medical devices on hand on British soil for six weeks, the government announced in London in early August. This will not work with foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, where prices are expected to rise at the turn of the year.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200818-99-207213 / 2

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-08-18

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