On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Angela Merkel that the United Kingdom was prepared and “ready” to walk away from post-Brexit trade negotiations from the European Union.
The German chancellor said the EU should be prepared for a no-trade deal Brexit on Wednesday, the day after Mr Johnson warned the that Britain was “ready” to walk away without an agreement.
Speaking in the European Union’s Brussels parliament, the German leader said: “I will continue to push for a good solution, but we should also prepare for a possible no-deal scenario,
“Progress in negotiations so far has been slim, to put it diplomatically,”
Merkel added: “We’ve agreed with the United Kingdom to accelerate the pace of talks to reach an agreement by autumn, an agreement that could be ratified by the end of the year.”
Prime Minister Johnson has been firm that negotiations with the EU will not drag on into the autumn, arguing that British businesses and citizens need certainty on the way forward before then.
The Prime Minister told Mrs Merkel that the UK “would be ready” to leave the transition period at the end of the year on Australian terms – the Government’s preferred expression for leaving without a trade deal.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “On the future relationship, the Prime Minister underlined the UK’s commitment to working hard to find an early agreement out of the intensified talks process.
“He also noted that the UK equally would be ready to leave the transition period on Australia terms if an agreement could not in the end be reached.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told MEPs in Brussels: “We will do our utmost to ensure that an agreement can be reached with the United Kingdom.”
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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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