EU-Britain Trade Agreement to Become Priority After Brexit: Barnier
EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier is set to make finalizing a trade agreement between the EU and Britain after Brexit his priority. As per the current deadline, Britain is slated to leave the EU latest by January 31, 2020 while the transition period will finish by the end of next year.
In a meeting with MEPs, Barnier expressed concern that the 11 months from the Brexit deadline till the end of the transition period may leave very little time to negotiate a trade agreement, but he will strive to get the deal in place by the end of 2020. In addition, negotiations on secondary issues such as road freight and aircraft landing and takeoff rights could take longer and are expected to be outside the scope of the trade agreement.
The EU may have to resort to contingency measures to avoid any potential economic disruption in case discussions drag on beyond 2020. In addition to trade, Barnier also highlighted security and defense as other pressing areas of concern that need to be discussed and finalized after Brexit.
Sidebar rates
Related Posts
