The head of the European Commission said that the chances of reaching a trade deal with Britain were fading by the day as the British government pushes ahead with moves that would breach their
divorce treaty. The British government unveiled draft legislation last week which it acknowledges would violate its international legal obligations and undercut parts of the divorce deal it signed before Britain formally left the European Union in January. Brussels wants Prime Minister Boris Johnson to scrap what is known as the Internal Market bill, saying it could sink talks on future trade arrangements before Britain leaves the EU’s single market, which it has remained part of during a status quo transition period that expire at the end of this year.
“With every day that passes, the chances of a timely agreement do start to fade,” said Ursula vonder Leyen, President of the European Commission, the EU executive.