EU Parliament sets Sunday deadline to finalise Brexit deal.

The European Parliament has issued a three-day ultimatum till Sunday to EU and UK negotiators to reach a Brexit trade agreement such that it has enough time to ratify the deal. In a joint statement on Thursday, the heads of the Parliament's political groups announced that it is ready to organise an extraordinary plenary session by the end of December in order to ratify a trade deal. However, Brexit negotiators have been warned to reach an agreement by midnight on December 20, Sunday. 

They added that if a deal is not reached by then, it could only be ratified in 2021, given that there will not be enough time for the Parliament to debate on the aspects of the agreement. 

The decision was taken by the parliament’s conference of presidents after a meeting with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels on Thursday morning during when he reported assured that a deal will be possible by Friday. UK and EU negotiators led by Michel Barnier and David Frost are currently in Brussels to work on bridging the remaining gaps and finalize a deal. Significantly, the European Parliament is required to ratify the deal for it to enter into force. 

While the lawmakers are scheduled to be on a Christmas break starting from December 25 until January 5, the Parliament said that a session can be organised on 48 hours' notice to approve an agreement if negotiators are able to finalise one. 

A no-deal exit can cause significant economic disruptions for Britain. As soon as the transition period ends on December 31, UK firms trading with the European Union will face border checks, customs tariffs in the absence of free trade deal. 

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen following which he maintained that Brexit talks were in a serious situation. As per a statement released by the Downing Street over the development, the Prime Minister suggested that an agreement is very unlikely to be reached, noting that fishing rights still remains an unresolved issue between the two sides.

“The prime minister repeated that little time was left. He said that if no agreement could be reached, the UK and the EU would part as friends, with the UK trading with the EU on Australian-style terms," the statement added, as per media reports. 

Ursula von der Leyen also stated that big differences remain between the EU and UK, adding that it will be challenging for negotiators to bridge the issues. However, she confirmed that substantial progress has been made on various issues to reach a Brexit trade deal.


Source: 

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/eu-parliament-issues-3-day-ultimatum-for-post-brexit-deal/articleshow/79781661.cms?from=mdr

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/17/european-parliament-sunday-deadline-post-brexit-trade-deal

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-deal-deadline-boris-johnson-eu-b1775523.html

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