“After a week of intense negotiations in London, the chief negotiator agreed that the terms of the agreement had not been met,” Barnier and Frost wrote in a statement distributed separately. According to the chief negotiators, this is due to “significant differences” in fair competition between British and European companies, oversight of agreements, and fisheries.
Barnier and Frost will inform their superiors of the status of the negotiations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are scheduled to meet tomorrow afternoon.
In recent days, there have been several indications that the Brexit negotiations are on the verge of a breakthrough. However, there were always reports that this was not the case and that there were still significant differences that needed to be bridged.
The UK will cut all ties with the European Union on January 1, but there is no possibility of a deal yet. If so, then there is no time for Parliament to approve it or not.
On New Year’s Day, the UK continues alone. The British have not been a member of the European Union since January 31 this year, but they are still committed to its rules during the transition period. Those 11 months were to be used to forge agreements on the future relationship between London and the remaining 27 member states of the European Union, but there is no result yet.
If the transition period ends without an agreement, the European Union and the United Kingdom will revert to the trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This means that many products will be charged import duties.
