Johnson: ‘Strong possibility’ Brexit talks will fail

BRUSSELS (AP) — With a chaotic and costly no-deal Brexit only three weeks away, leaders of both the European Union and the United Kingdom saw an ever likelier collapse of trade talks, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson even spoke of a “strong possibility” of failure.

Both sides told their citizens to brace for a New Year’s shock, as trade between the UK and the 27-member bloc could face its biggest upheaval in almost a half century.

Johnson’s gloomy comments came as negotiators sought to find a belated breakthrough in technical talks, where their leaders failed three times in political discussions over the past week.

Facing a Sunday deadline set after inconclusive talks between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Johnson Wednesday night, both sides realised their drawn-out four-year divorce might well end on bad terms.

“I do think we need to be very very clear, there is now a strong possibility — a strong possibility — that we will have a solution that is much more like an Australian relationship with the EU,” Johnson said, using his phrasing for a no-deal exit.

Australia does not have a free trade deal with the EU.

“That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing,” Johnson added.

On the EU side, reactions were equally pessimistic.

“I am a bit more gloomy today, as far as I can hear,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said at an EU summit where von der Leyen briefed the 27 leaders on her unsuccessful dinner with Johnson.

A cliff-edge departure would threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs and cost tens of billions of dollars in commerce.

To prepare for a sudden exit on January 1, the EU on Thursday proposed four contingency measures to make sure that at least air and road traffic would continue as smoothly as possible between both sides for the next six months.

It also proposed that fishermen should still have access to each other’s waters for up to a year, to limit the commercial damage of a no-deal split.

The plans depend on the UK offering similar initiatives.

The move was indicative of how the EU saw a bad breakup as ever more realistic.

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