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Johnson and Von Der Leyen Seek Brexit Breakthrough at Dinner

Boris Johnson Seeks Brexit Breakthrough at Dinner in Brussels

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Brussels for talks over dinner with the head of the European Commission on Wednesday, amid warnings from both sides that a Brexit trade deal may be impossible.

After eight months of negotiations broke up without agreement, Johnson is seeking to inject political momentum into the process at a meeting with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and top officials from both sides on Wednesday evening.

Johnson and Von Der Leyen Seek Brexit Breakthrough at Dinner

The pair stood awkwardly as they posed side by side for pictures in the Commission headquarters in Brussels, first removing their face masks and then putting them back on again.

Johnson’s team hopes the conversation -- over scallops and steamed turbot -- will provide a more relaxed atmosphere in which the two leaders can break the impasse. But negotiations are still deadlocked over the same issues -- fishing rights, the governance of a deal, and fair competition rules for businesses.

The scale of the gap that still needs to be bridged on the so-called level playing field for businesses was laid bare on Wednesday. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the dispute over what happens if British rules diverge from the EU could wreck a deal.

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“We must not only have a level playing field for today, but also for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” Merkel said. “If there are conditions from the British side which we will not be able to accept, then we are prepared to go away without an agreement.”

Three hours later, Johnson hit back.

“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,” the prime minister told Parliament in London. “They’re saying we 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 any prime minister of this country should accept.”

Dinner Talks

However, Johnson’s words signal where a compromise might be found. EU officials have floated the prospect of independent arbitration for the rules on fair competition, meaning retaliation might not be “automatic.” Equally, the EU is ready to underscore the U.K.’s sovereign control of its waters and doesn’t see that European boats’ continued access would violate that.

As he left for Brussels, Johnson said on Twitter that “a good deal is still there to be done” and his team believe the dinner offers the best chance to make headway. The two chief negotiators -- Michel Barnier for the EU and Britain’s David Frost -- will also be at the meal and could restart formal talks in coming days if there’s the possibility of agreement.

Johnson and von der Leyen get on well and, in the past, the prime minister has found one-to-one talks to be the best way to break through difficulties, as when he struck a compromise with Ireland’s Leo Varadkar on the separation phase of Brexit.

Pessimism

Even so, this time pessimism remains. On the EU side, member states are preparing for no deal, an outcome that would disrupt trade from Jan. 1, while British officials are urging company bosses to get ready for changes to border processes even if a trade agreement is struck.

There’s no indication that the “miracle” needed to get a Brexit deal over the line is on its way, an EU diplomat told reporters in Brussels. Even if Wednesday’s dinner goes well, the most that can happen is that negotiating teams are sent back to work, he said, adding that it will be too soon for EU leaders -- who meet for a summit on Thursday -- to give any approval.

According to Micheal Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, the chances of agreement are no better than 50-50. Wednesday’s dinner talks between Johnson and von der Leyen is now a rescue mission. “We’re on the precipice of no deal,” he said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.