Johnson Tells Macron: “No Sense” Dragging Out Trade Talks into Autumn

By Staff, Agencies

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told French President Emmanuel Macron that it “makes no sense” to extend post-Brexit trade talks beyond the end of the summer, in talks during the French president’s one-day visit to London.

Johnson is eager to seal agreement on a future trade and security partnership with the EU swiftly, as the lack of progress so far has heightened the danger of an economically disruptive no-deal crash-out at the end of the Brexit transition period in December.

But the French president is understood to be reluctant to discuss the trade deal on a bilateral basis, insisting that UK negotiations must be with the 27-nation bloc as a whole.

There appears to have been no breakthrough during the 45-minute talks at Downing Street on Macron’s priority of lifting the UK’s 14-day quarantine on arrivals from abroad, which is preventing the resumption of travel between the countries as their respective coronavirus lockdowns lift.

A brief statement released by No 10 said only that the leaders had agreed that “the partnership between our countries will be crucial in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring the global recovery is green and sustainable”.

The talks came at the end of a day of ceremony, as Macron marked the 80th anniversary of his predecessor Charles de Gaulle’s wartime appeal to his countrymen from London to resist Nazi occupation.

Macron was welcomed to London by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, remaining two meters apart in line with physical distancing guidelines.

At Downing Street, he viewed a 1940s BBC microphone of the kind used by de Gaulle to send his defiant “Appel” as well as messages exchanged with Winston Churchill.

Johnson and Macron maintained social distancing as they observed a flypast of the Red Arrows and their French equivalent, La Patrouille de France from Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

No 10 said that the two leaders had reflected on the enduring Anglo-French relationship and welcomed on-going cooperation between their countries on illegal migration across the Channel.

A spokesman added: “On UK-EU negotiations, the prime minister welcomed the agreement to intensify talks in July and underlined that the UK does not believe it makes sense for there to be prolonged negotiations into the autumn.

“The prime minister and president Macron discussed the situation in Libya and agreed on the need for a UN-led political process which brings together all parties to end the conflict.

“Finally, the leaders agreed to continue to work closely on other international issues, including the proposed Chinese national security law in Hong Kong which would be a breach of the Joint Declaration, and to bring about a two-state solution in the Middle East peace process.”