The Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic in Brussels, September 9, 2020. -
Olivier HOSLET / POOL / AFP
After several weeks of tensions, and despite confidence shaken by the British turnaround, the United Kingdom and the European Union resume their discussions on their future trade relationship after Brexit on Monday.
The Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, and the British Secretary of State, Michael Gove are due to meet on Monday noon in Brussels.
They are expected to come back to the very controversial bill currently under consideration in the British Parliament, which calls into question certain commitments made by the United Kingdom in the agreement governing its departure from the EU on January 31.
Ninth and last meeting on the agenda
The text revisits certain customs and public aid provisions for the British province of Northern Ireland, planned to avoid the return of a border with the Republic of Ireland, an essential safeguard for maintaining peace. on the island.
Furious at this turnaround, which would violate international law by the British government's own admission, the Europeans gave London until the end of the month to withdraw their project, on pain of legal action.
Negotiators must then get into the heart of the matter on Tuesday: a new round of discussions on their future relationship, the ninth since March and the last so far on the agenda.
According to corroborating sources, no breakthrough is expected during this week of discussions in the Belgian capital.
But "the way to an agreement will have to be identified", insists a European diplomat.
“If we have no movement, the process will be in great difficulty,” he warns.
And the specter of a "no deal", which would further shake economies already weakened by the coronavirus epidemic, would once again haunt people's minds.
The two parties "still very distant from each other"
Discussions are due to end on Friday, just as EU heads of state and government meet in Brussels for a two-day summit, which begins on Thursday.
They are taking place within a particularly tight schedule: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left negotiators until October 15, the date of a European summit in Brussels, to reach an agreement.
The Europeans believe that a trade agreement must be concluded before the end of October.
The aim is to leave the necessary time for the text to be ratified for it to enter into force on 1 January 2021, when the transitional period during which the United Kingdom continues to apply European standards has ended.
But the talks still stumble on several "sensitive subjects" on which the two parties remain "still very distant from each other", according to another EU diplomat.
Among them, the eternal question of the guarantees required by the EU in fiscal, social, environmental and above all state aid, to avoid seeing the emergence of a deregulated economy on the other side of the Channel, which would compete with it. in an unfair manner.
"We are dealing with a partner with whom we cannot trust"
An agreement on fishing, allowing Europeans to continue fishing in British waters, which are full of fish, also remains to be found - even though London presented an attempted compromise in the previous round.
Finally, the “governance” of the future agreement, in particular the way in which London and Brussels will be brought to resolve their future trade disputes (and the place of the Court of Justice of the EU in this process), continues to pose problems.
The British bill has seriously scalded member states, which intend to tie up an agreement as solid as possible, as an insurance against any future attempts to turn around.
“The intention is to border the text legally.
Not sure the British are ready for that, ”explains a European source.
“They are very relaxed about reinterpreting provisions that they don't like, or even violating them,” she continues.
“We are dealing with a partner with whom we cannot trust.
"
World
Brexit: Theresa May accuses the government of threatening "the integrity of the United Kingdom"
World
EU: Ursula von der Leyen unveils battle plan for recovery and climate
Video
Brexit
EU
UK
World