Saturday 19th December 2020
Bad Brexit preparation
British body attacks government
If the European Parliament has its way, the deadline for a trade agreement between the EU and Great Britain ends on Sunday. Otherwise the no-deal Brexit threatens – and there is sharp criticism on the island of the slow preparations for this case.
The British Parliament's Brexit Committee has clearly criticized the government's preparations for the end of the transition period on December 31st. Decisions were made "too late" and communication with companies was "at best patchy", according to a report by the bipartisan body.
The police could be forced to use "slower and more cumbersome" systems – it was "unlikely" that an agreement replacing the European arrest warrant would be in place in time, it said. The committee also criticized the slow conversion of IT systems at ports, for example. Companies would not have enough time to adjust to the new systems. A new infrastructure for customs and border controls must also be built in the ports. The allocation of state funds for the work was too slow.
The government is still unable to inform companies, traders and citizens with certainty about what will happen in the areas affected by the negotiations with the EU on a trade pact, said committee chairman Hilary Benn. "With only seven business days remaining until the end of the transition, significant concerns remain." The government must be ready to put emergency plans in place, demanded the politician of the opposition Labor Party.
EU Parliament approves emergency measures
Great Britain left the EU on February 1, but the country will remain in the EU internal market and the customs union until the end of the year. Brussels and London are still negotiating a follow-up agreement. Should no agreement be reached, there is a risk of tariffs and other trade barriers between Great Britain and the EU. In this case, severe delays in goods traffic on the English Channel are expected.
The European Parliament, which would have to approve an agreement, has named this Sunday as the final deadline for an agreement in order to be able to carry out the ratification in time. The members of the EU Parliament also approved emergency measures for a no-deal Brexit on Friday. They approved plans for fishing, aviation safety, and air and road transport. You want to avoid such an immediate chaos, said the leader of the Social Democrats, Iratxe García Pérez. The CDU MP David McAllister emphasized that one had to be prepared for all scenarios.
Now the Council of Member States has to deal with the plans. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the measures in the event of the failure of negotiations on the Brexit trade package last week. They contain a proposal to maintain certain flight connections between the UK and the EU for six months. There should also be a reciprocal regulation for six months to secure freight transport and bus traffic.
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