The European Union and Great Britain will start negotiations on their future partnership as soon as possible. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson early next year.
Conservative Prime Minister Johnson wants to speed up his Brexit deal with the EU. The British Queen will deliver her Speech from the Throne on Thursday, officially opening the parliamentary year. Johnson wants the House of Commons to vote on the laws for leaving the European Union as early as Friday.
Johnson wants his country to leave the EU by the end of next month. This means he has only a few weeks left to get the necessary legislation approved. Parliament is also expected to go on a Christmas recess.
If Great Britain leaves the EU on January 31, a transition period will begin during which EU rules will still apply to the British, but they will no longer have any influence over new EU matters.
The transition period included in the deal runs until December 2020. It can then be extended for another two years. The Prime Minister had already promised during the election campaign not to extend the transition period. According to various British media, there is even a legal prohibition on further extension of the transition period after December 31, 2020.
During the transition period until the end of 2020, little will change. In that time, an agreement must be reached on the future (trade) relationship. If this cannot be done within 11 months, a no-deal Brexit still threatens, which the previous British parliament had ruled out.
Commission President Von der Leyen called it "very challenging" to be able to conclude a deal within that timeframe. If it fails, a chaotic Brexit threatens. Michael Barnier, who will lead negotiations with the British on behalf of the EU, had already warned that eleven months is too short to reach a comprehensive trade deal.
The negotiations will not be easy. Several EU government leaders have already drawn a red line. "If you want access to our internal market with your goods, you have to respect our standards and rules," expressed Christian Democrat Manfred Weber, chairman of the largest group in the European Parliament, on Tuesday.