End-2020 Deadline for Brexit Talks Makes Comprehensive Deal Impossible, EC President Says

The short, end-2020 deadline pushed by the United Kingdom government for negotiations on a permanent post-Brexit deal with the EU means the two sides won’t be able to strike a comprehensive deal, but will instead have to prioritize what makes it into the final agreement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in remarks Jan. 8 at the London School of Economics. The top priority should be areas where an international agreement does not exist to fall back on, she said. A “hard exit” in any area “would not be good for the U.K. or the EU,” von der Leyen said.

Von der Leyen says she wants a deal with “zero quotas, zero tariffs and zero dumping,” though the extent to which this is possible depends on whether a level playing field exists between EU and U.K. goods. The actual timeframe for negotiations is even tighter than the end of the year, because both the EU and the U.K. will need time to ratify any agreement after it is negotiated, she said, adding that she would prefer to again take stock around the beginning of the summer to see if a July 1 extension is warranted. A provision in the Brexit transition deal bill currently before the U.K. Parliament would bar any extension past the end of 2020 (see 1912200056). Parliament is now considering amendments to the bill before it votes on final passage, according to a BBC report.