London Threatens Post-Brexit Breakdown If EU Doesn’t ‘Change’ Approach

He The UK ‘must prepare’ for a brutal break with the European Union at the end of the year if there is no “fundamental change “ by Brussels in stalled post-Brexit trade talks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday.

All 27 “They have given up on the idea of ​​a free trade agreement, there seems to be no progress from Brussels”Johnson said in a televised address the day after a summit where heEuropean leaders urged London to make concessions to avoid a no-deal breakup.

“So we say to them ‘come see us if there is a fundamental shift in approach, otherwise we are willing to talk about the practicalities'” of an abrupt separation, he added.

After years of delays and political chaos, the UK officially left the EU on January 31 thanks to the overwhelming Parliamentary majority won by Johnson’s Conservative Party in the legislative elections of December.

However, Until the end of December, the country is in a transition period destined to negotiate with Brussels a free trade agreement that governs their future relationships.

What are the two main points of disagreement?

Despite the nine rounds of formal talks held since March, and the intense informal contacts of the last two weeks, there are still no results on the two main points of disagreement.

In exchange for offering the British access to the single market, the Europeans are demanding:

• To continue fishing in its waters

• Limit your public grants to private companies

So that it can be ratified in time by the respective parliaments, the two parties agree that the agreement should close in October.

However, Johnson had set as a deadline the date of 15, the start day of the European summit, while the EU was in favor of continuing to negotiate until the end of the month.