Germany will continue to push to seal a new partnership agreement with Britain by the end of the year, but the European Union should also prepare for an abrupt split from 2021, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters.
Britain left the EU in January and is currently in a standstill transition period with the bloc to give the two sides time to fix a new relationship in everything from trade to security.
“Progress in negotiations thus far has been slim, to put it diplomatically,” Merkel told the European Parliament as Germany assumed the EU’s rotating presidency for the rest of the year.
“We have agreed with the UK to accelerate the pace of the talks ... I will continue to push for a good solution, but we should also prepare for a possibility of a no-deal scenario.”
Britain has so far rejected EU pressure to commit to close ties in areas ranging from fisheries to harmonising competition standards - a ‘level playing field’ - since Prime Minister Boris Johnson - a key campaigner for Brexit - wants only a narrower trade deal.
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