Europe’s Radical Right Can Help Johnson Get Momentum on Brexit Deal (original) (raw)

This week, the delegations of the European Union and the United Kingdom started the institutional meetings concerning the Brexit deal negotiations. The transition period during which the two sides may possibly find an agreement on a variety of issues — almost everything from trade to migration — and avoid a no-deal Brexit is set to the end on December 31, 2020. A few days ago, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that if “good progress” were not possible, a no-deal Brexit would be envisaged because “the UK would not trade away its national sovereignty.” On the opposite side, Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, quickly replied by stating that “the EU will stick to its prior commitments,” indicating that the European Union will keep its intransigent stance in the coming talks, firmly rejecting the possibility of a EU-Canada style deal. Amalie de Montchalin, the French minister of European affairs, has echoed this sentiment. Each side’s entrenched stances are reminiscent of the negotiations that went into agreeing on Brexit to begin with.