Britain demanded “more realism” from the European Union Monday ahead of crucial post-Brexit trade talks, but the mood was soured by reports that London was looking to rewrite an agreement the two sides had already signed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator, David Frost, said “we must make progress this week” if an agreement is to be reached by the end of a post-Brexit transition period in December.

For that, “we need to see more realism from the EU about our status as an independent country”, he said ahead of Tuesday’s talks with the EU’s Michel Barnier in London.

“If they can’t do that in the very limited time we have left, then we will be trading on terms like those the EU has with Australia, and we are ramping up our preparations for the end of the year.”

Talks have been deadlocked for months over issues such as the extent of EU access to UK fishing waters, state aid and fair competition rules. Both sides say a deal must be agreed by a mid-October EU summit.

But there was concern in Brussels on Monday after the Financial Times reported Johnson planned to legislate to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement struck before Britain left the EU in January.

“Everything that has been signed must be respected,” Barnier warned, saying he would discuss it with Frost.

The FT said legislation to be put before UK parliament this week would undermine agreements relating to Northern Ireland customs and state aid.

Under the protocol, Northern Ireland, which will have Britain’s only land border with the EU, will follow some of the bloc’s rules to ensure the frontier remains open.

Eliminating border checks with the Republic of Ireland was a key part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of violence over British rule in the province.

“I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.

‘Remove ambiguity’

Johnson’s spokesman said the UK government was “fully committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol, and we have already taken many practical steps to do”.

But he said it was taking “limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements” of the protocol in UK law, to “remove any ambiguity”.

The report provoked an angry backlash in Dublin and Belfast, where the prospect of a potential “hard border” is a reminder of “The Troubles”.

“This would be a very unwise way to proceed,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in response to the FT report.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said the UK would show “total disregard for the lives and concern of the people of Ireland” if it backtracked on the Brexit deal.

Jitters were also felt on the currency market, where the pound slid against the dollar and euro on fears that the UK-EU talks would fail, severely disrupting trade ties.

‘Sabre-rattling’

Some analysts however suggested the row over Northern Ireland is a move by London to raise the pressure in the trade talks.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said the increased rhetoric from London and Brussels was inevitable “sabre-rattling” and “posturing” as the deadline approached.

Johnson has said that failing to reach agreement would still be a “good outcome” for Britain, dubbing it an “Australia-style” deal.

However, Australia trades with the EU under World Trade Organization rules and tariffs, which would significant disruption to cross-Channel trade.

Britain formally left the 27-member bloc on January 31 but remains bound by EU rules until the end of December while it tries to thrash out new terms of its relationship.

            <p>LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s chief negotiator in post-Brexit trade talks called for “more realism” from the European Union ahead of the start Tuesday of another round of discussions between the two sides. 

With expectations of a breakthrough in the talks diminishing, there are concerns that they could collapse in the coming weeks. Though the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31, it is in a transition period that effectively sees it abide by EU rules until the end of this year. The two sides have been negotiating future trade ties over the past few months but progress has been minimal.

David Frost, the British government’s chief negotiator, said the two sides “can no longer afford to go over well-trodden ground” in the deadlocked talks and that the EU needs to show “more realism” about the U.K.’s status as an independent country. The EU side will be led by its long-time Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

“Today, I will sit down with Michel Barnier and drive home our clear message that we must make progress this week if we are to reach an agreement in time,” Frost said. “We have now been talking for six months.”

The trade discussions have made very little progress over the summer, with the two sides seemingly wide apart on several issues, notably on business regulations, the extent to which the U.K. can support certain industries and over the EU fishing fleet’s access to British waters.

Relations appeared to become further strained Monday following reports that Britain’s Conservative government was attempting to unilaterally ride roughshod over its divorce agreement with the EU that paved the way for the U.K.’s smooth departure earlier this year.

EU officials said any attempt to override the international treaty could jeopardize peace in Northern Ireland as well as undermine the chances of any trade deal.

The British government said the publication of planned legislation on Wednesday is intended to tie up some “loose ends” where there was a need for “legal certainty.” It said the Internal Market Bill will ensure goods from Northern Ireland, which is part of the EU, will continue to have unfettered access to the U.K. market, while making clear EU state aid rules, which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, will not apply in the rest of the U.K.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain could walk away from the talks within weeks and insists that a no-deal exit would be a “good outcome for the U.K.” He said in a statement that any agreement must be sealed by an EU summit scheduled for Oct. 15.

British businesses are worried about a collapse in the talks that could see tariffs and other impediments slapped on trade with the EU at the start of next year. Most economists think that the costs of a ‘no-deal’ outcome would fall disproportionately on the U.K.

Follow all AP stories about Brexit and British politics at https://apnews.com/hub/brexit.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Cyprus’ President, Nikos Anastasiades, had an extensive phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday in view of the European Council meeting that will take place on September 24.

The meeting will discuss the illegal and provocative actions of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Deputy Government Spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said in a written statement.

(CNA)

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A defiant Boris Johnson today said “I will not back down" amidst a growing stand-off with the European Union.































The Prime Minister made the comment in a Tory Party email ahead of the start of the eighth round of Brexit talks on a trade and co-operation treaty with the EU on Tuesday.




































It comes as Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, warned Mr Johnson not to break international law following claims that <a href="/news/politics/brexit-override-brexit-withdrawal-agreement-a4541371.html" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4541896-https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-override-brexit-withdrawal-agreement-a4541371.html" data-vars-event-id="c23">Downing Street is planning to overwrite parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.</a>

Mr Johnson has set a five-week deadline to either reach agreement or for both sides to accept there will be no deal when the current transition period ends at the close of the year.



































An email from the PM this afternoon, sent out by the Conservative Party, said in its headline: “I will not back down”.

Mr Johnson added: “If we can’t agree by then [October 15], then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on.

“We’ll then have a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia’s. I want to be absolutely clear that, as we have said right from the start, that would be a good outcome for the UK.































“As a Government we’re preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it.”































He said the UK would have “full control” over laws, rules, fishing waters and the freedom to do trade deals with every country in the world, adding: “We will prosper mightily as a result.”























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Signing off, the Prime Minister said he would be “delighted” if the EU “rethink their current positions” but added: “We cannot and will not compromise on the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to get it.”































The email was sent out after it was reported that the Government was preparing to overwrite parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that the Prime Minister had signed just months ago.

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It has sparked a clash with the EU over concerns that the UK could walk away from the Northern Ireland protocol – aimed at ensuring there is no return of a hard border with the Republic – if talks on a free trade deal fail.























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EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was “worried” while the Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney warned that it would be “a very unwise way to proceed”.































Ms von der Leyen warned there could be no backtracking by the UK on its previous commitments if it wanted to reach a free trade agreement.

She said: “I trust the British Government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership.

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"[The] protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and integrity of the single market."































Downing Street played down the row, saying the proposal was a “safety net” in case EU-UK trade talks fail.































The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the Government was proposing "limited clarifications" to the law to ensure ministers can preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement in the event of no deal.























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<aside class="inline-block inline-related item-count-5 align-right"><h2 class="box-title">Read more</h2>

</aside>The Internal Market Bill - to be tabled on Wednesday - will ensure goods from Northern Ireland continue to have unfettered access to the UK market while making clear EU state aid rules - which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland - will not apply in the rest of the UK.































In addition, an amendment to the Finance Bill will give ministers the power to designate which goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are considered "at risk" of entering the EU single market and are therefore liable to EU tariffs.































"As a responsible Government, we cannot allow the peace process or the UK's internal market to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the protocol," the spokesman said.























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"So we are taking limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity and to ensure the Government is always able to deliver on its commitments to the people of Northern Ireland."































A UK official added: "If we don't take these steps we face the prospect of legal confusion at the end of the year and potentially extremely damaging defaults, including tariffs on goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland."































<amp-iframe height="188" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups" layout="fixed-height" frameborder="0" src="https://embed.acast.com/theleader/acoronavirusvaccineforthenewyear-matthancockthinksso-andwhyanodealbrexitsbackonthetable" class="i-amphtml-layout-fixed-height i-amphtml-layout-size-defined" i-amphtml-layout="fixed-height"/>







Although the UK formally left the EU in January, it has continued to follow rules set in Brussels during a transition period - which ends on 31 December - while discussions over a long-term trade agreement continue.








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… crisis after Britain warned the European Union that it could effectively … trade between Britain and the EU could be thrown into … international standing,” said one EU diplomat.
“Who would … ; he told Sky News.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said …