- Tweeter
republish
Negotiations continued on Wednesday, October 16, early in the evening between Brussels and London to try to pull an agreement on Brexit, with " good progress ", even if the European Union remained suspended at a British green light, a few hours of a European summit.
" Good progress and work continues, " cautiously dropped the negotiator of the European Union (EU), Michel Barnier in the early evening in front of journalists who watched him between two meetings during which the French put the ambassadors of EU and MEPs updated on the latest developments.
" I want to believe that an agreement is being finalized, " said French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this Wednesday from Toulouse (south-west of France) where he met Angela Merkel. " We are in the last meters of the negotiations, " said the German Chancellor.
"No announcement expected" in the immediate future
However, no agreement on the Brexit will be concluded tonight in Brussels where European and British negotiators seek to reach an agreement before the European Council on Thursday and Friday, according to a British government source quoted by Laura Kuenssberg, head of the political department of the BBC.
Just as Barnier arrives to see ambassadors, government source has just told me there will be a deal tonight
Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) October 16, 2019" A government source has just told me that there will be no agreement tonight, " she wrote on Twitter.
"The basis of an agreement is ready"
On the British side, Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured at a council of ministers that there was " a chance to get a good deal " but that there remained a " number of outstanding issues ". The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk said earlier this Wednesday that " the basis of an agreement was ready ".
The summit of Thursday and Friday is theoretically the last before the divorce between London and the EU, scheduled for October 31. EU negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that it was " possible " to reach an agreement this week. " An agreement is still possible, " said his British counterpart, Brexit Minister Steve Barclay.
Negotiations still in progress
The discussions focused on a number of thorny issues: how to avoid the return of a border between Ireland, an EU member, and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, in order to preserve peace on the island while allowing customs controls. Or the right of scrutiny granted to the North Irish authorities on the divorce agreement.
The future commercial relationship with London was also at the center of discussions. After the Brexit , the United Kingdom will be a " new competitor " at the door of the EU, warned Chancellor Angela Merkel. Europeans condition the ambition of their future relationship with London to respect the rules in the fiscal, social or environmental.
Despite these advances, the hypothesis of a postponement of divorce remains in everyone's minds. In the absence of agreement by October 19, a British law requires Boris Johnson to ask for a new deadline, the third, of three months, which the Prime Minister has excluded on many occasions.
(with dispatches)