TLTP
\nLONDON
\nLondon and Brussels have agreed to \u201cgo the extra mile\u201d in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent exit for Britain from the European Union\u2019s orbit at the end of the month.
\nBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the EU\u2019s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen had given negotiators a Sunday deadline to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU\u2019s single market.
\nIt is pertinent to mention that during this Sunday they mandated negotiators to continue, although Johnson sounded a downbeat note on prospects for a breakthrough. \u201cDespite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile,\u201d Johnson and von der Leyen said in a joint statement.
\nBritain quit the EU in January but remains an informal member until Dec. 31 \u2013 the end of a transition period during which it has remained in the EU single market and customs union. Johnson said the two sides would try to be as creative as possible but Britain could not compromise on key \u201cred lines\u201d so the most likely option was no deal, with trade reverting to the non-concessionary terms set by the World Trade Organization.
\nA final Brexit without a trade deal would damage the economies of Europe, send shockwaves through financial markets, snarl borders and sow chaos through the delicate supply chains across Europe and beyond.
\n\u201cEvery opportunity to reach a deal is highly welcome,\u201d German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin. The two sides have struggled to agree on fishing rights in British waters and EU demands that Britain face consequences if in the future it diverges from the bloc\u2019s rules for fair competition \u2013 what it calls a level playing field. Ireland\u2019s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said that despite recent comments from the British side, he understood that there was largely agreement on maintaining existing standards.
\n\u201cI think both sides do want a deal and they want a deal now,\u201d Coveney told national broadcaster RTE. \u201cMy view is that a deal can be done, but it really needs to be done within the next few days.\u201d
\nTaking the podium at EU headquarters in Brussels on Sunday, Von der Leyen said that despite the lack of any breakthrough, talks to determine the two sides\u2019 future trading relationship would continue. Von der Leyen said she had a \u201cconstructive and useful phone call\u201d with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which they discussed \u201cmajor unsolved topics.\u201d
\nShe didn\u2019t go into detail, but sticking points have included fishing rights, fair competition rules and mechanisms for resolving trade disputes.
\n\u201cOur negotiation teams have been working day and night over the recent days, and despite the exhaustion after almost one year of negotiations \u2014 and despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over \u2014 we both think that it is responsible, at this point in time, to go the extra mile,\u201d von der Leyen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP LONDON London and Brussels have agreed to \u201cgo the extra mile\u201d in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent exit for Britain from the European Union\u2019s orbit at the end of the month. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n