Britain’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has warned that there is a “strong possibility” no post-Brexit trade deal will be struck with the EU.
The Prime Minister iterated that British citizens and businesses should “make proper preparations” for the scenario, which would come into effect on 1st January 2021.
He added that Brussels’ current offer “isn’t right for the UK” and that a no-deal divorce – what he described as a trading relationship like the one Australia has with the EU – would still be “very good.”
The stakes are raised as negotiations go right to the brink of the transition period, due to end in a few weeks.
A high profile meeting between Mr Johnson and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen earlier, had failed to break the deadlock.
Both leaders have set Sunday, 13th December as the deadline to decide if talks should fold or continue.
In a short interview from Downing Street, the Prime Minister vowed to “keep going” and “go the extra mile” in pursuit of an agreement.
“The UK has been incredibly flexible,” he said. “We tried very hard to make progress on all sorts of things.
“I do think that we need to be very very clear.
“There’s now a strong possibility, a strong possibility that we will have a solution that’s much-more like an Australian relationship with the EU than a Canadian relationship [trade deal] with the EU.
“That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, there are plenty of ways that we can turn that to the advantage of both sides.”
He added that “Now is the time for the public and for businesses to get ready for 1 January – because believe me there’s going to be change either way.”
Mr Johnson identified the two major remaining issues as fishing and the EU’s bid to get the UK to sign up to its business competition demands known as the “level playing field”.
Earlier, Ms von der Leyen had said the EU is “willing to grant access to the single market to our British friends – it’s the largest single market in the world – but the conditions have to be fair.
“They have to be fair for our workers and for our companies and this fine balance of fairness has not been achieved so far.”
She also admitted to the possibility of a no-deal Brexit because of time limitations.
“Negotiations are still ongoing but the end of the transition is near,” she said. “There is no guarantee that if and when an agreement is found it can enter into force on time.”
The European Commission however insists it wants to strike a trade agreement by the year-end deadline.
“While a ‘no-deal’ scenario will cause disruptions in many areas, some sectors would be disproportionately affected due to a lack of appropriate fall-back solutions,” it said.
The UK left the EU on 31 January, but has continued to follow most of the bloc’s rules to give negotiators time to try and strike a trade deal while limiting disruption for businesses and travellers.
