Both the EU and UK negotiators said on June 5th they did not make a big progress during their last talks when Boris Johnson had the chance to discuss with the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, about a possible free trade agreement before a further Brexit extension will be necessary to avoid the no-deal.
According to Michel Barnier, both the UK and EU have not been able to address the issues of fair competition, future relationship and fishing rights. He re-affirmed that it will only be possible for the UK to trade with EU member states without restrictions if the Parliament will agree to some “level playing field” rules in order to ensure similar supervisory standards on the environment and labour. However, the UK Parliament has not agreed with these conditions and firmly stated that the UK is not willing to stand at any of the rules imposed by the EU.
Anyhow, Michel Barnier confirmed that, should the UK fail to extend the negotiation period by the end of June, a deal will have to be ensured by the end of October for the twenty-seven European member states to ratify it before the beginning of 2021.
Photo credit: Rocco Dipoppa