Boris Johnson says U.K. will quit EU with no deal within weeks if talks stall
07 September 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday if no agreement is struck by Oct. 15, the United Kingdom will leave without a deal.
The big picture: The U.K. has five weeks to reach a deal with the EU, with negotiations due to resume in London on Tuesday. The threat comes as the U.K. plans legislation to "override" key aspects of the Brexit withdrawal agreement reached with the European Union — including on Northern Ireland, the Financial Times first reported Sunday.
Why it matters: The moves could see the unraveling of the deal U.K. reached with the EU last October to avoid a hard border with customs control on the island of Ireland and the collapse of trade talks, which are due to resume in London on Tuesday.
- Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said last week a "precise implementation of the withdrawal agreement" would be the "only way to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and preserve the all-island economy."
Between the lines: Northern Ireland has the U.K.'s only land border with an EU member state.
- Top U.S. Democrats have ruled out a trade deal with the U.K. if Brexit creates a hard border with Ireland and violates the Good Friday Agreement — which helped bring peace to Northern Ireland in the 1990s after decades of sectarian violence. Congress must approve all U.S. trade deals.
Details: Aspects of the U.K. internal market bill, to be published Wednesday, are set to "eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement" signed in January — including on Northern Ireland customs, the FT notes.
- A British government source told the Guardian the move was "part of the preparation for a no-deal exit" that would present "new trade barriers" from Northern Ireland.
What they're saying: A government spokesperson told the FT that officials were working to "resolve outstanding issues" on Northern Ireland. "[W]e are considering fallback options in the event this is not achieved to ensure the communities of Northern Ireland are protected," the spokesperson added.
- Johnson said in a statement, "There is no sense in thinking about timelines that go beyond that point.
"If we can't agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on. ... Our door will never be closed and we will trade as friends and partners - but without a free trade agreement."
Go deeper:Brexit's Irish border headache
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.