Brussels must budge or we walk away... PM rejects delay
BORIS Johnson yesterday warned Brussels he will walk away without a Brexit deal if it refuses to compromise in the final days of talks.
The Prime Minister said the negotiations are stuck and told the EU it must accept Britain will take control of its laws and borders.
He insisted the UK can “certainly cope” with any difficulties caused by moving on to World Trade Organisation rules from January 1.
He added: “The position is unchanged. There are problems. It is vital everybody understands that the UK has got to be able to control its own laws completely and also that we have got to be able to control our own fisheries.
“And it remains the case that WTO terms would be more than satisfactory for the UK and we can certainly cope with any difficulties that are thrown our way.”
Mr Johnson said he still believes the country will “prosper mightily” whether a deal is struck or not.
Chief negotiator Lord Frost will continue talks with EU counterpart Michel Barnier today in Brussels, with just nine days left until transition arrangements expire.
Sources close to the negotiations said discussions remain “difficult” with fishing and state subsidies still holding up a deal.
EU insiders said Lord Frost was prepared to lower his demands for future fishing quotas if Brussels agreed to back down in other areas of the agreement. But this was dismissed by UK sources.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have called for the transition period to be extended. But the PM and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer both opposed extending the deadline.
The PM’s official spokesman said that “time is obviously in very short supply” to get a deal done. He added: “We will need to ratify any agreement ahead of January 1. The leader of the House made clear that we would recall Parliament in order to give MPs a vote on the necessary legislation.
“We have been clear on this point that we will either leave the transition period on December 31 with a free- trade agreement or we will leave with Australia- style WTO terms. That remains the case.”
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said extending the transition period would “add fuel to the fire” by creating extra uncertainty.
The European Parliament is now unable to ratify a deal by the end of the year after the Sunday deadline was missed. But EU leaders could provisionally sign off an agreement struck before the end of the year with ratification delayed until 2021.
Eurocrats have been drawing up plans to extend Britain’s transition out of the bloc. MEPs told officials to explore the possibility of a new treaty to create a legal basis for “extending the transition period”.
The Parliament’s Brexit committee proposed keeping Britain inside the EU’s single market and customs union for up to three months while MEPs ratified any trade pact.
An insider said: “Any new arrangement would need unanimity from EU member states and officials are groping at various ideas for a legal basis.”
Some European capitals would likely insist on Britain contributing billions to the EU’s financial coffers during the standstill period. The source said the approach was “favoured” by the EU Parliament decision makers.
However, Downing Street will reject the proposal if it is officially tabled by Brussels in the coming days.
A spokesman said: “We’ve clearly set out the reasons that we will not extend the transition period. It would bind us into future EU legislation, without us having any say in designing it, but still having to foot the bill. We need to avoid endless prolonged negotiations stretching into next year and provide certainty to our citizens and businesses as soon as possible.”
If negotiators fail to reach an agreement, the European Parliament has promised to meet before the end of the year to vote on contingency plans that would cushion the blow of Britain’s departure.
‘ The UK has got to be able to control its own laws completely’