The Prime Minister has on various occasions said that the United Kingdom will be prepared to leave the European Union “whatever happens” on December 31, Mr Johnson is now expected to tell European Union leaders on today that they must conclude Brexit talks by autumn “at the latest” to give certainty to companies affected by the UK’s exit from the EU.
The Prime Minister, his chief Brexit negotiator David Frost, and the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove are set to hold “high-level talks” with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament.
The Political Declaration agreed between the UK and EU last autumn set out that the high-level meeting must “take stock of progress with the aim of agreeing actions to move forward in negotiations on the future relationship”.
There will now be talks in each week of the five weeks between June 29 and July 27 to try to strike a deal. Number 10 sources said on Sunday that Mr Johnson “will make it clear that the negotiation now needs to be swiftly concluded, with certainty provided to the public and businesses by the autumn at the latest”. That is later than a deadline of “the end of summer” that was being briefed by Number 10 late last week.
The PM will use the meeting due to be held by video conference because of social distancing caused by the coronavirus pandemic , to press for a “high-quality Free Trade Agreement” (FTA) that is “consistent with others the EU have agreed, as part of a balanced overall outcome”.
Last week the UK officially told the EU that it would not be seeking an extension to the Brexit implementation period at the end of this year.
A UK Government spokesman added: “The high-level meeting was always envisaged as a moment to push the negotiations forward. We now need to get this resolved and deliver certainty for businesses at home and in the EU as soon as possible.
“There’s a high-quality FTA to be done, based on the agreements the EU has already reached with other countries. But, whatever happens, we will be ready for January 1, when we will be back in control of our laws, borders and money.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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