11 December 2019

The Independent: Brexit will not get done by 2021, EU chief negotiator admits in leaked recording that blows hole in Boris Johnson promise

Brexit trade negotiations cannot be finished in the timeframe claimed by Boris Johnson, the EU's chief negotiator has privately admitted – blowing a hole in the prime minister's big election promise to "get Brexit done".

In a leaked recording obtained by The Independent, Michel Barnier tells a private meeting that the UK's 11-month timetable to wrap up trade talks by 2021 is "unrealistic" and suggests negotiations will drag on until long after the end of next year.

"With regards to this agreement, we will not get everything done in 11 months. We will do all we can – we won’t do it all," Mr Barnier can be heard telling a group of senior MEPs at the closed meeting in the EU capital this week.

The recording sparked consternation from Mr Johnson's critics back in the UK, with the prime minister accused of "lying to voters" about Brexit and "playing the British public for fools" by opposition parties.

Mr Barnier, who was recently reappointed to lead the next round of Brexit talks for the EU side, told the meeting: “It is unrealistic that a global negotiation can be done in 11 months, so we can't do it all. We will do all we can to get what I call the 'vital minimum' to establish a relationship with the UK if that is the time scale."

He added that without a further extension of EU rules and regulations to Britain one or two years there would be another "cliff-edge" that could see Britain crash out on WTO rules.

"If there is no extension, we will still have a few months to achieve what I would describe as the minimum necessary for the economy and security or to prepare for a cliff-edge," the chief negotiator said – adding that the decision would have to be taken by the government in June, just over six months from now.

"Either we have a trade agreement or we will be in the WTO framework. We can’t take contingency measures on trade to give us more time … If there’s no deal, it is a cliff edge for trade." [...]

Full article on The Independent

© The Independent