Key week in EU-UK talks kick off with confidence low
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and recently departed EU member Britain are entering a crucial week of talks, hoping to salvage a rudimentary trade deal within weeks despite a negotiating climate spiked with accusations of untrustworthiness.
Monday's talks will center on Britain's recent threat to renege on parts of the withdrawal treaty it signed and which allowed it to officially leave the EU on Jan. 31. Under that cloud, trade negotiators take over as of Tuesday to see if a free trade deal will still be possible by the end of the year, when a transition period runs out.
Both sides stand to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and a big chunk of their income if they fail to find a compromise agreement. Yet, Brussels and London have been digging in their heels and have vowed not to compromise on key issues.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Monday his government “is preparing its budget in three weeks’ time on the basis that there will be a no-deal Brexit.”
Martin said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempt to pass a law that breaches part of the legally binding EU-U.K, divorce agreement had “eroded trust” and undermined confidence.
Johnson’s government proposed a bill earlier this month that would give the U.K. the power to disregard part of the Brexit withdrawal treaty dealing with Northern Ireland, which shares a 300-mile (500-kilometer) border with EU member Ireland.
Johnson has said he would not put it past the EU to abuse the treaty to put the Northern Irish part of the United Kingdom in an economic chokehold. The EU insists the full withdrawal agreement must be respected for fear that it otherwise might re-ignite tensions on the island of Ireland.
Britain and the EU jointly promised in the Brexit divorce agreement to ensure...
