Fears grow of a December Brexit without a trade deal
The French will be the toughest negotiators
ON JUNE 15th Boris Johnson promised to put “a bit of oomph” into trade talks between Britain and the European Union so as to reach an outline agreement in July. Yet September has come with no sign of a deal. Little progress is expected when the talks resume in London next week. Indeed, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, says negotiations are going backwards and a deal by year-end (when the standstill transition period ends) seems unlikely. The end-October deadline, to allow time to draft and ratify a treaty that will run to hundreds of pages, is just eight weeks away.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Deal or no deal?”
Britain September 5th 2020
- Competence matters, and Johnson hasn’t got it
- Why Britons walk their dogs so much
- Fears grow of a December Brexit without a trade deal
- In England, reopening has not been the disaster many feared
- Demand for apartments is flatlining in Britain
- Britain’s 5G rollout faces myriad obstacles
- Why raves are enjoying a revival
- Could Ed Davey lead a Lib Dem revival?
From the September 5th 2020 edition
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