LONDON/DUBLIN (UK/IRELAND) – For the last time, both Britain and the European Union will make an attempt to strike a post-Brexit trade agreement as there are just a few days left for negotiators of both sides to prevent a bumpy divorce at the end of the year.
Ireland would face more economic difficulties than any other member of the bloc if there is a no-deal exit and its prime minister warned against lover-optimism and he put the chances of striking a deal at 50-50.
Over the weekend British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with his EU counterpart Ursula von der Leyen in order to get their teams to the discussion table after talks were stalled because of thorny issues.
On Monday evening, they will hold another round of talks with the hope that by then, the sticky issues such as fishing rights in the UK waters, fair competition and ways to solve future disputes will have narrowed.
When negotiations resumed on Sunday, The Guardian newspaper reported that there had been “a major breakthrough” with regard to rights of European fleets to fish in British waters and that leaves only one issue which is how closely Britain should adjust to EU environmental, social and labour standards over time.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin did not sound optimistic.
“My sense, having spoken to some of the key principals here, is that it is a very challenging issue to resolve, particularly around the level playing field … Things are on a knife edge here and it is serious,” he told broadcaster RTE.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier will explain to ambassadors of nations of the bloc to Brussels on the situation early on Monday and talks are slated to go on during the day ahead of another check-in by Johnson and von der Leyen.
Mairead McGuinness, Ireland’s commissioner on the EU’s executive, said the following two days were very important, adding that even if negotiators on both sides failed to reach an accord, the two parties will still have to discuss their future relationship in the new year.
“So it doesn’t go away: there has to be an agreement, there has to be a settlement,” she said in an interview with the Newstalk Radio podcast.
Experts opine that even in case of an agreement, there will still be disruptions with regard to the movement of goods and people as the nation will be out of the EU single market and customs union from New Year’s Day.
At the frontiers, there will be more elaborate checks, causing delays in supplies affecting a host of industries, especially those relying on just-in-time deliveries.
According to a report that came in the Observer, as per the British government’s contingency plans, tens of millions of coronavirus shots could be flown from Belgium by military aircraft in order to overcome the delays at ports caused by Brexit.
According to farming minister George Eustice, the end of the transition period would not cause any disruption to the supply of vaccines.
“A huge amount of work has gone on to maintain the flow of goods at the border … and we’ve also got contingency plans in place, including a government-procured ferry that’s on standby and of course the option, should it be needed, to use air freight too,” he said.