Brexit: ‘Get ready’ for no deal, says Boris Johnson. Britain should prepare for final no-deal break

Boris Johnson has said that unless there is a “fundamental change of approach” from the EU, Britain is prepared to move to trading on World Trade Organisation rules when the Brexit transition period ends. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/spec... #eudebates #debates #Barnier #BREXIT #negotiations The Prime Minister said this week’s EU summit in Brussels has made clear the EU is not prepared to offer the kind of Canada-style deal the UK is seeking. “They want the continued ability to control our destiny and freedom, our fisheries, in a way that is completely unacceptable,” he said. “Given that this summit appears to explicitly rule out a Canada-style deal, I think that we should ready for January 1 with arrangements that are more like Australia’s.” Mr Johnson had previously said that if there was no agreement by the time of the two-day summit, which began on Thursday, he would walk away from the negotiating table. The Prime Minister’s announcement came after the summit conclusions agreed on Thursday called on the UK to make the “necessary moves to make an agreement possible”. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he is ready to travel to London on Monday to continue the negotiations. Following Mr Johnson’s statement, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that visit will still go ahead as planned. “The EU continues to work for a deal, but not at any price,” she tweeted. “As planned, our negotiation team will go to London next week to intensify these negotiations.” Asked if he is now walking away from the negotiating table, Mr Johnson said: “What we are saying to them is, ‘Come here, come to us if there is some fundamental change of approach’. “Otherwise we are more than happy to talk about the practicalities that I described – social security issues, road haulage and so on. “But unless there is a fundamental change in approach, we are going to go for the Australia solution. “And we should do it with great confidence – as I said, high hearts and confidence because we can do it.” In the run up to the summit, both sides had acknowledged significant differences remained over the issues of future fishing rights and state aid rules. However few in Brussels believe Mr Johnson will simply walk away from the negotiating table. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it is time for the UK to “get ready” for a no-deal with the EU by January first after facing what he calls a refusal to “negotiate seriously” for the last few months. “From the outset, we were totally clear that we wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada style relationship based on friendship and free trade,” Johnson said on Friday “To judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for our EU partners,” he added. Johnson’s comments come after EU leaders agreed during a European Council summit on Thursday evening that “progress on the key issues of interest to the Union is still not sufficient for an agreement to be made” in the Brexit negotiations. Over the past weeks, multiple high-ranking EU officials have said that the EU still wants an agreement, “but not at any price”. “Given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1st with arrangements that are more like Australia’s, based on simple principles of global free trade,” said Johnson. Calling on businesses, travellers and audiences to “get ready”, Johnson said he was “of course” willing to discuss the practicalities where a lot of progress has already been made. “It’s clear from the summit that after 45 years of membership, they are not willing – unless there is some fundamental change in approach – to offer this country the same terms as Canada,” he added. On 7 September, Johnson said that if the 15 October deadline was not met, both parties should “accept that and move on”. His full response to the situation is expected later on Friday. In response to the European Council’s conclusions, Britain’s Chief Brexit negotiator David Frost said that he was “disappointed” and “surprised the EU is no longer committed to working ‘intensively’ to reach a future partnership”, as had been agreed on with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 3 October. “Also surprised by the suggestion that to get an agreement all future moves must come from the UK. It’s an unusual approach to conducting a negotiation,” Frost added. https://www.eudebates.tv/ #eudebates