A deadline until October 15, set by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has already been missed, but Britain and the EU continue to talk. Some stumbling blocks are: the Withdrawal Agreement provides for a transitional period until 31 December 2020, during which the UNITED Kingdom will remain in the internal market to ensure smooth trade until a long-term relationship is agreed. In the absence of an agreement on that date, the UK will leave the internal market on 1 January 2021 without a trade agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement is closely linked to a non-binding political declaration on the future relationship between the EU and the UK. The 2019 revisions also adapted elements of the political declaration and replaced the word « appropriate » with « appropriate » with respect to labour standards. According to Sam Lowe, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform, the amendment excludes labour standards from dispute settlement mechanisms. [27] In addition, the mechanism for a level playing field has been moved from the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement to the Political Declaration[24] and the line in the Political Declaration that « the UK will consider aligning itself with EU legislation in relevant areas » has been deleted. [26] EU27 diplomats informed on Tuesday that the British wanted the political declaration to be based exclusively on a free trade agreement « and only this one ». It didn`t turn out that way.
For example, the clauses on future cooperation with the European Medicines, Aviation and Chemicals Agencies are identical.
