Category: EU News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that as the European Union (EU) Summit in Brussels refused to offer London a Canada-style deal, Britain will prepare to embrace a no-trade deal scenario.

Johnson’s remarks came following the EU Summit discussions on Brexit on Thursday. EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he will continue intensive talks in the coming weeks and the EU hopes to reach a deal with Britain, but not at any price, Xinhua news agency reported.

Johnson said Britain wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada-style relationship. But to judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for the EU because they want the continued ability to control Britain’s legislative freedom and fisheries.

“And given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months, and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada-style deal, I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1 (2021) with arrangements that are more like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade,” the Prime Minister said.

The Australia-style arrangement is an euphemism for failure to reach a free trade agreement with the EU, which means the Britain-EU trade will fall back on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in 2021.

He called on British businesses, hauliers and travelers to get ready since there are only 10 weeks until the end of the transition period due on December 31, 2020.

Johnson said Britain is willing to discuss the practicalities with the EU where a lot of progress has already been made, on such issues as social security, aviation, nuclear cooperation and so on.

“But for whatever reason it is clear from the summit that after (more than) 45 years of membership they are not willing — unless there is some fundamental change of approach — to offer this country the same terms as Canada,” he said.

Johnson said Britain will prepare to embrace the Australia-style arrangement with complete confidence, adding that Britain will prosper mightily as an independent free trading nation, controlling its own borders, fisheries, and setting its own laws.

Prior to the EU Summit, Johnson held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both leaders had said an agreement needs to be struck in October to ensure there is enough time for ratification.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Macron also discussed the coronavirus crisis in their bilateral discussions as a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections was reported in their countries.

The discussion took place at a time when Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines to check the spread of the virus in the world.

Britain and the EU started their lengthy and bumpy post-Brexit talks in March after Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31, trying to secure a future trade deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.

The latest announcement came after Italy recorded another 8,804 coronavirus cases, its biggest daily increase in infections since the start of the outbreak…Reports Asian Lite News

Italy has been added to Britain’s quarantine list, which means travellers returning from the country will have to self-isolate for 14 days, a senior British official said.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also announced that people arriving in Britain from the Vatican and San Marino will have to isolate, adding that the measure will come into force at 4 a.m. BST (0300 GMT) on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Greek island of Crete has been removed from the quarantine list so people arriving from the island will no longer have to isolate, said Shapps.

The latest announcement came after Italy recorded another 8,804 coronavirus cases, its biggest daily increase in infections since the start of the outbreak.

Another 18,980 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 673,622, according to official figures released Thursday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 138 to 43,293, the data showed.

The latest figures were released as the British capital, along with some other areas, is placed in a higher level of the government’s alert system.

Under the Tier Two of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s three-level COVID-19 alert system, millions of Londoners will face tougher measures from Saturday with different households banned from meeting in indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.

“Now, I know that these measures are not easy but I also know that they are vital,” British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement to the House of Commons (lower house of parliament).

“Responding to this unprecedented pandemic requires difficult choices, some of the most difficult choices any Government has to make in peacetime,” Hancock told MPs.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said currently there was “simply no other option” to fight the fast spread of coronavirus.

“Nobody wants to see more restrictions but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect Londoners,” he told London’s City Hall.

The London mayor said he will continue to urge the government for more financial support.

“We’ve got a difficult winter ahead,” he added.

The new three-level COVID-19 alert system came into force across England on Wednesday, with the level being decided according to local infection rates.

The alert system comprises three levels: “Medium”, “High” and “Very High”. The Liverpool City Region will be placed in the “very high” level since Wednesday,

Along with London, areas including Essex, Elmbridge, Barrow-in-Furness, York, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield and Erewash, will also go into “High” alert restrictions this weekend.

To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

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Johnson “noted the desirability of a deal, but expressed his disappointment that more progress had not been made over the past two weeks”…Reports Asian Lite News

Ahead of a European Union (EU) summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the “desirability” of a new trade deal with the bloc, but also his disappointment that more progress had not been made.

Johnson’s comments came during a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday evening, Downing Street said in a statement.

The leaders discussed the latest state of play of the negotiations on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, reports Xinhua news agency.

Johnson “noted the desirability of a deal, but expressed his disappointment that more progress had not been made over the past two weeks”, the statement said.

“The Prime Minister said that he looked forward to hearing the outcome of the European Council and would reflect before setting out the UK’s next steps in the light of his statement of 7 September,” it said.

Johnson said last month that a future trade deal needs to be agreed by mid-October to enable it to be approved ahead of January 1, 2021.

While Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the deal needs to be ready by the end of October.

Both sides started the lengthy post-Brexit talks in March after the UK ended its EU membership on Januart 31, trying to secure a future trade deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.

If there is no deal in place, the UK will trade with the EU on terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2021.

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