Boris Johnson says UK and EU ‘not far apart’ on trade talks

Boris Johnson has said there is a “very good” chance of securing a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union as both sides agreed “new momentum” was needed to get negotiations back on track.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inside 10 Downing Street in central London on January 8, 2020, ahead of their meeting. - The EU's top official on Wednesday predicted "tough talks" with Britain on the sides' future relations after Brexit enters force after years of delays at the end of the month. "There will be tough talks ahead and each side will do what is best for them," European Council president Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of her first official meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Prime Minister called for an agreement to be reached by the end of July after talks with the EU’s leaders.

But European Council chief Charles Michel said the EU would not be pressured into buying a “pig in a poke” and insisted Brussels would stand by its demands for the UK to agree to a “level playing field” to ensure fair competition.

Speaking in Downing Street, Mr Johnson said he believed a deal would be concluded by the end of the year when the current transition arrangements expire “provided we really focus now and get on and do it”.

He suggested that Brussels wanted to drag the talks out in an attempt to push them towards the 31 December deadline.

It was “very clear what the UK needs” from the deal, he said, adding: “We can’t have the involvement of the European Court of Justice in this country, we can’t have a system whereby we continue to have to obey EU law even when we’re out of the EU and we’ve got to get a great deal for our fish.”

Four rounds of negotiations have so far made little apparent progress, but the two sides have agreed to an “intensified” negotiating timetable in the weeks ahead. 
Mr Johnson said: “I don’t think we’re actually that far apart, but what we need now is to see a bit of oomph in the negotiations.”

The EU has formally accepted that the UK would not seek any extension to the transition which allows Britain continued access to the single market while talks continue.

In a joint statement, the two sides said the earlier rounds of talks led by the Prime Minister’s Europe adviser David Frost and EU negotiator Michel Barnier had been “constructive” but “new momentum was required”.

In a video conference the leaders agreed plans to “intensify the talks in July and to create the most conducive conditions for concluding and ratifying a deal before the end of 2020”.

“This should include, if possible, finding an early understanding on the principles underlying any agreement.”

Mr Michel underlined the EU’s commitment to the “level playing field” - a key demand aimed at ensuring fair competition by preventing the UK straying too far from Brussels’ rules on workers’ rights, environmental protections and state subsidies.