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Brexit: agreement in sight between London and Brussels

2020-12-23T21:43:45.432Z


Eight days before the January 1 deadline, British and European negotiators were hopeful that they would quickly reach a “dea


There should be a post-Brexit deal for Christmas.

Late Wednesday evening in Brussels, the teams of Michel Barnier, chief negotiator of the European Union (since… 2016!), And his British counterpart David Frost wanted to believe that, this time, they could see the end of the tunnel.

This agreement at the end, one week before the end of the transition period on January 1, 2021 at midnight, “toped” in the night or, according to those close to the file, no later than this Thursday, sets the rules for commercial relations between the EU and its former member who chose the open sea by referendum four years ago.

Outsmarting the gloomy prognoses, and especially the bluffing blows of a Boris Johnson playing on his political credibility, the negotiators avoid a "no deal" which would have been synonymous with a return to tariffs and quotas, an additional economic shock for both parties, already in the grip of the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The post-Brexit will already be complicated enough like that"

The almost cloaking of the island for 48 hours between Sunday and Wednesday, because of the appearance of a new variant of the coronavirus, has also given a worrying foretaste, with its congested warehouses, its stores stormed and its lines of hundreds of trucks stranded in the region of the port of Dover, with truckers on the verge of nervous breakdown, what the situation would be for lack of a "deal".

"The post-Brexit will already be complicated enough like that, because even with an agreement there will be many more customs controls than before", recalled this Wednesday evening, realistically, a European diplomat.

In the opinion of experts, this chaotic picture has undoubtedly increased the pressure on the British.

The troublemaker "BoJo", who had already dismissed the toughest "Brexiters" in his entourage and accused the blow of the defeat of his great ally Donald Trump in the American presidential election, thus took control of the discussions.

On the other side of the Channel, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, entered the scene directly from the European summit of December 10 and 11: the German and the British have exchanged several phone calls in recent days .

Unlike a Michel Barnier saying he was ready to negotiate "beyond" if necessary the deadline of January 1, Ursula von der Leyen wanted to quickly reach an agreement, urged in this by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who holds the six-monthly presidency of the EU for a few more days - until December 31.

An agreement on a "provisional basis" before ratification in January

But at the Elysee - or rather at the Versailles residence of La Lanterne where he was in solitary confinement - Emmanuel Macron also watched over the negotiations.

According to our information, the Head of State would have even blocked this weekend the conclusion of an agreement presenting points of tension, too advantageous for the United Kingdom.

In particular on the fishing issue, which is highly sensitive for France.

“The latest version is much more satisfactory,” confides someone close to the negotiations.

Other hot issues, Britain's respect for EU health, environmental and social standards to maintain privileged access to its market of 450 million consumers, and the establishment of mechanisms to settle future disputes between partners.

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French fishing holds its breath before a possible agreement


What will happen now?

Concretely, we will already have to translate the treaty, which has around 2000 pages, into the 23 languages ​​of the EU.

And above all to ensure that it is acceptable to each member state: the 27 ambassadors of member countries in Brussels have already been mobilized on Christmas Eve.

In principle, to enter into force on January 1, the treaty would have to be ratified beforehand by the European Parliament, with MEPs sitting by videoconference.

As this examination seems almost impossible in such a short period of time, the agreement could be applied “on a provisional basis” pending proper ratification in January.

At the end of such an intense and uncertain negotiation, "we are no longer close to it," blows a European official.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2020-12-23

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