Johnson – UK-EU ‘deal still there to be done’ but Brussels’ demands unacceptable

No prime minister could accept the demands the European Union is currently making as the price for a trade deal, Boris Johnson said ahead of crunch talks with Brussels’ top official.

The Prime Minister will fly to Brussels for dinner with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen with the negotiations in crisis and time running out.

Time is running out to reach a trade agreement before the current transitional arrangements expire at the end of the month but Mr Johnson insisted a deal was still possible.

At Prime Minister’s Questions Mr Johnson set out the main problems he has with the EU’s position, although he said “a good deal is still there to be done”.

The protracted negotiations on a UK-EU trade deal have faltered on the issues of fishing rights, the “level playing field” measures aimed at preventing the UK undercutting the EU on standards and state subsidies, and the way that any deal would be governed.

Mr Johnson said: “Our friends in the EU are currently insisting that if they pass a new law in the future with which we in this country do not comply or don’t follow suit, then they want the automatic right to punish us and to retaliate.

“Secondly, they are saying that the UK should be the only country in the world not to have sovereign control over its fishing waters.

“I don’t believe that those are terms that any prime minister of this country should accept.”

He again insisted the UK would “prosper mightily” with or without a deal – a claim which has been disputed by economic experts including the Office for Budget Responsibility and the governor of the Bank of England.

Failure to reach agreement would see tariffs imposed on UK exports to the EU, the country’s biggest trading partner, and could also increase bureaucracy.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has suggested that a no-deal outcome could wipe 2% off gross domestic product, a measure of the size of the economy, in 2021.

The Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the long-term damage caused by a no-deal situation would be worse than the economic hit from coronavirus.

Mr Johnson’s press secretary Allegra Stratton told reporters: “The Prime Minister is going to be clear this evening that he cannot accept anything that undermines our ability to control our laws or control our waters.

“He is going to put that clearly to von der Leyen and see what her response is.”

The Prime Minister did not speak to reporters as he left Downing Street to head to the Belgian capital.

Mr Johnson is expected to arrive for the dinner at 7pm UK time, with negotiators Lord Frost and Michel Barnier also attending the event.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested his MPs would back a deal if Mr Johnson brought one back to the Commons.

“If there is a deal, and I hope there’s a deal, then my party will vote in the national interest – not on party political lines, as he is doing.”

He urged Mr Johnson to “end the charade”, claiming the Prime Minister’s “incompetence has held Britain back”.

Ahead of the Brussels dinner there has been pessimistic briefing from both sides, with UK sources acknowledging “an agreement may not be possible” and the EU’s negotiator Mr Barnier warning the bloc’s foreign ministers that a no-deal scenario is more likely than an agreement.

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove suggested there could be a limited compromise over fishing rights, with the UK prepared to be “very generous” in the way changes are phased in.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “What is not up for compromise is the principle that the UK will be an independent coastal state and it will be a matter for negotiation between the UK and the EU, with the UK in control of our waters.”

German chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of the “level playing field” to protect the EU’s single market – the rules governing trade in the bloc.

She told the parliament in Berlin: “We must have a level playing field not just for today, but we must have one for tomorrow or the day after, and to do this we must have agreements on how one can react if the other changes their legal situation.

“Otherwise there will be unfair competitive conditions that we cannot ask of our companies.”

The meeting between Mr Johnson and Mrs von der Leyen comes on the eve of a summit of leaders from the 27 EU members in Brussels.

But European Council president Charles Michel said “it is not the intention to plan a discussion” on the post-Brexit negotiations at the meeting.

Traders were hedging their bets that a Brexit deal could finally be signed, with the pound rising just 0.26% against the dollar. It was also up 0.47% against the euro as markets closed for the day.

Neil Wilson, financial analyst at Markets.com, said: “This only shows that traders think both outcomes – deal or no-deal – are still very much in the running.

“We await signals from the dinner between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen this evening.”