Britain could 'move away' from trade negotiations with EU in June

As the post-Brexit trade talks between the European Union and the UK are set to begin next week, the Downing Street has said on February 27 that it would leave the talks in June unless there is a “broad outline” of a deal. According to an official release by the British government setting out the mandate for its future relationship with the EU and its negotiations, London would “move away” from the discussions of a trade accord after working in a “speedy and determined fashion”. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is hoping for a 'free-trade' agreement with the 27-nation-bloc to be “rapidly finalised by September”.

According to the official website, the official statement said, “The UK is committed to working in a speedy and determined fashion to do so, with an appropriate number of negotiating rounds between now and the June high-level meeting foreseen in the Political Declaration. The Government would hope that, by that point, the broad outline of an agreement would be clear and be capable of being rapidly finalised by September”.

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It further added, “If that does not seem to be the case at the June meeting, the Government will need to decide whether the UK’s attention should move away from negotiations and focus solely on continuing domestic preparations to exit the transition period in an orderly fashion”. 

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EU wants 'fair and balanced' deal

EU's head of negotiations with Britain, Michel Barnier has said that Brussels wants “fair and balanced” trade agreement. The 27-nation bloc also warned London that it would not cut a deal regardless of the cost. After the bloc's ministers agreed on insisting the so-called “level playing field” rules and the access to British waters for the European fishermen, Barnier told the reporters on February 25, “we will not conclude an agreement at any price”. Barnier, however, has promised that the discussions to reach an agreement will happen in “good faith”.  

On February 25, the member nations of the EU gave Barnier a reportedly robust mandate for the trade talks with its ex-member, Britain. According to the international news agency, the approved mandate is more likely to set up a clash over Britain's demands to export to the continent on its own terms without following the rules and regulations offered by the bloc. However, the EU members are reportedly insisting that if the UK wants to strike the best possible trade deal, it will have to follow certain EU laws and keep its fishing waters to be open for the bloc. 

Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had clearly stated that London would not adhere to the rules imposed by the EU. Johnson stressed the need for a 'comprehensive free-trade agreement' similar to the 'Canada-style' agreement with the EU. He further denied settling into any trade accord which would require the UK to follow bloc's rules. Instead, British PM says that 'EU should be obliged' to follow Britain's rules as according to him, Britain is doing 'better' than the 27-nation-bloc in many ways.

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