A no-deal Brexit is extra possible than discovering settlement on fishing and “degree enjoying discipline” competitors guidelines, Ursula von der Leyen warned European Union leaders this morning.
In a downbeat evaluation after an all-night EU summit dominated by haggling over local weather change targets, the European Fee president mentioned that the prospects of discovering a commerce and fishing deal this weekend had been diminishing.
“I can’t give proportion odds however there may be increased chance for no-deal than a deal,” she informed EU leaders in a dialogue that solely lasted ten to fifteen minutes.
The previous German defence minister, who has taken command of the EU negotiating group below Michel Barnier in current weeks, mentioned that it could be seen by Sunday whether or not a deal was attainable.
Her feedback adopted Boris Johnson’s warning final night time that Britain ought to put together for the tip of the Brexit transition interval with out an settlement. He mentioned it was important that “everybody will get prepared” for the no-deal choice.
“Positions stay aside on basic points,” Mrs von der Leyen mentioned after the summit. “Our negotiators are working; we are going to determine on Sunday whether or not we’ve got the circumstances for an settlement or not. A technique or one other in lower than three weeks it will likely be new beginnings for outdated mates.”
Final night time the prime minister mentioned that he had the cupboard’s very sturdy backing in rejecting the “deal on the desk” and that leaving the EU’s single market and customs union with out settlement was possible.
“I do suppose we must be very, very clear, there may be now a robust risk, a robust risk, that we are going to have an answer that’s rather more like an Australian relationship with the EU than a Canadian relationship with the EU,” he mentioned. Not like Canada, Australia doesn’t have a commerce cope with Europe.
Malcolm Turnbull, the previous Australian prime minister, warned the UK to “watch out what you would like for” earlier than leaving the EU with an “Australian-style deal”.
“There are very large obstacles to Australian exports of agricultural merchandise particularly,” he informed BBC Query Time. “There’s lots of friction within the system by way of companies.”
Australians “wouldn’t regard our commerce relationship with Europe as being a passable one”, he added. “Watch out what you would like for in Australia. Australia’s relationship with the EU is just not one from a commerce perspective that Britain, I believe, would need.”
Solely two EU leaders spoke in response to Mrs von der Leyen this morning after a marathon summit that had lasted over 20 hours with solely brief breaks from horsetrading over the burden of local weather change targets and subsequent 12 months’s Brussels price range.
Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, mentioned that within the occasion of a no-deal exit from the transition interval the EU wanted to stay to the identical political message. Micheál Martin, the Irish chief, lamented a “large loss for all: UK, Eire and EU” if talks break down.
“That’s the prevailing temper proper now,” he mentioned after the summit. “Individuals recognise the big challenges that stay now by way of pulling off a deal. Suffice to say that individuals really feel and consider throughout the member states that that is going to be a really difficult process.”
Mrs von der Leyen mentioned that she had “repeatedly made clear” to Mr Johnson over dinner in Brussels on Wednesday that “the precept of truthful competitors”, requiring Britain to take care of equal ranges of requirements, was a deal-breaker for the EU aspect.
“It’s only truthful that rivals to our personal enterprises face the identical circumstances in our personal market,” she mentioned. “However this isn’t to say that we’d require the UK to observe us each time we determine to boost our degree of ambition, for instance within the environmental discipline. They might stay free sovereigns. We’d merely adapt the circumstances for entry to our market in line with the choice of the UK and this might apply vice-versa.”
On talks over entry for the European fishing fleet to British waters, she mentioned: “We haven’t but discovered the options to bridge our variations. We perceive the UK aspires to manage its waters. The UK should, however, perceive the respectable expectations of EU fishing fleets.”
Mr Johnson issued an express problem to President Macron of France and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to intervene to salvage a deal.
“What I’ve mentioned to our negotiators is that we’ve obtained to maintain going, and we’ll go the additional mile, and we are going to,” he mentioned. “And I’ll go to Brussels, I’ll go to Paris, I’ll go to Berlin, I’ll go to wherever to try to get this house and get a deal.”
President Macron hit again at diplomatic briefings that he was destabilising talks by threatening to veto a deal.
“We’ve a negotiator, a agency technique. Which means we’ve got had a listing of what’s acceptable and what’s not for the reason that very starting on fishing, power, guidelines of truthful competitors which defend the integrity of the widespread market,” he mentioned.
“It’s regular that in negotiations the place there’s lots of people concerned there are rumours, noises, hearth and counterfire.”
Lisa Nandy, the shadow international secretary, mentioned that the federal government had “misplaced the plot” over the Brexit negotiations. “We’re watching what is going on in negotiations with an rising sense that the federal government has simply misplaced the plot,” she informed the At the moment programme on BBC Radio 4.
