UK’s Johnson says Britain remains committed to getting Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that Britain remained committed to getting a free trade deal with the European Union, but the bloc knew what their “bottom line” was.

“We remain absolutely committed to trying to get a deal if we can,” he told a media conference. “I think our friends and know what the UK bottom line is.

“It’s about making sure that the UK is able to run its own laws, its own fisheries, and so on, and that’s fundamentally what it’s what it’s all about.” 

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator told member states’ envoys on Wednesday negotiations on a trade deal with Britain were reaching “a make-or-break moment”, and they urged him not to be rushed into an unsatisfactory agreement.

Four diplomats told Reuters after a briefing by Michel Barnier that the talks remained snagged – as they have been for months – on fishing rights in British waters, ensuring fair competition guarantees and ways to solve future disputes.

“He said the coming days will be decisive,” said a senior EU diplomat who took part in the briefing, just over four weeks before the end-of-year deadline for a deal to avoid what could be an economically damaging divorce.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomat said Barnier did not specify a date by which an agreement must be clinched, but time will be needed for all 27 member states and the European Parliament to approve it before Dec. 31.

“Swift progress is of the essence,” David McAllister, who chairs a Brexit group in the European Parliament, said on Twitter. “An agreement needs to be reached within very few days if (the European) Council and Parliament are to complete their respective procedures before the end of the transition period.”

Main Photo: The EU’s Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier ahead of ongoing Brexit talks in London, Britain, 02 December 2020. Brexit negotiations are continuing in London ahead of a looming deadline. An negotiations phase of eleven months that started on on 31 January 2020 following the UK’s exit from the EU, ends on 31 December 2020. EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN