Following the EU Parliament’s ratification of Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement, the UK is finally due to leave the union at the end of today. After today, the UK will enter into an 11-month transition period, in which we will negotiate a trade deal with the EU. However, former Brexit Secretary David Davis warned ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the EU have “standard tactics” that may make trade talks “very tense” over the year.
He said: “What you can almost certainly guarantee there will be some very very tense times over the course of the year.
“The standard European tactic, not just Michel Barnier’s, but the standard European tactic is to go right to the edge.
“That’s how they negotiate.
“They even have a tactic if they actually miscalculate and run out of time, they do what they call ‘stop the clock’, and it stays midnight on December 31 for as long as they want.”
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LBC host Iain Dale agreed: “David’s had experience of Michel Barnier, he knows his game plan.
“Michel Barnier is a very clever man.
“Though you would think there is more incentive for the EU to do a deal now because they sell us £90 billion more than we sell them, I think there’s going to be a lot of rocky paths over the next 11 months.
“But it is in law that we can’t extend that, and that was quite a clever thing by Boris Johnson.”
The UK is due to leave the European Union at the end of today.
The EU Parliament ratified the Withdrawal Agreement by 621 votes to 49 following an emotional debate.
This comes after the British Parliament voted 330 to 231 to proceed with the Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
During the transition period the UK will cease to be an EU member but will continue to follow its rules and contribute to its budget.
The deadline for the transition period is December 31, 2020.