BORIS Johnson has told EU time-wasters they have until September to strike a Brexit deal or Britain will walk away without one.
The PM has warned that foot-dragging by Brussels will not force him to extend the transition period beyond December 31.
He says they need to wake up to the political reality and get things moving before it is too late.
Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost has warned EU boss Michel Barnier that they need to up the pace in this week’s crucial talks if we are to reach a trade deal.
But French president Emmanuel Macron has reportedly said he is too busy fighting the pandemic.
A UK source close to the negotiations said: “We expect the next round to be constructive and keep the process on track.
“But then we are going to need things to move forward faster.
“We recognise the EU have other important issues on their plate too, as we all do, but they can’t just mark time on these talks.
“The EU seems to have finally understood we aren’t going to move on fundamentals, so they now need to think quickly about how they can find an agreement that reflects reality.”
Mr Johnson is happy to go the extra mile, pushing back the deadline for a deal from June, but aides stress they cannot take it to the wire like before.
Business to prepare if there is no deal and an insider said “October is too late”.
A senior government source added: “What is clear is that the conventional approach will not get us much further.
“The EU needs to inject some political reality into its approach and appreciate that they cannot use their usual tactic of delay to drag the talks into the autumn.”
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/politics/chaos-of-governments-coronavirus-test-trace-scheme-will-last-for-weeks-because-it-was-launched-so-badly/
