PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has set a deadline of October 15 on reaching an agreement with the European Union, after which No-Deal Brexit will become a certainty.
Speaking ahead of the eighth round of Brexit negotiations, which will start tomorrow, Johnson said “there is no sense in thinking about timelines that go beyond that point [October 15]”.
“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.
“We will then have a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia’s.”
Australia does not currently have a trade agreement with the EU. However, a No-Deal Brexit and an Australia-style deal are not the same thing, according to David Henig, the director of the European Centre For International Political Economy.
READ: Michael Russell's full statement on Westminster Brexit deal 'betrayal'
Henig said: “No-Deal with the EU will not be an 'Australia-style' relationship. 75% of Australian goods exports to the EU are minerals or agriculture, unlike the UK's close supply chain links. There are a number of EU-Australia agreements related to trade.”
Australia is currently in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU, with the seventh round of their talks being held virtually from May 4 to 15, 2020.
Those talks first began on June 18, 2018.
Johnson insisted it was not too late for the UK to reach a deal with the EU, but said Westminster “cannot and will not compromise on the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to get it”.
He added that he would be “delighted” if the EU is ready to “rethink their current positions”.
However, in saying that the UK desired “full control over … our fishing waters”, Johnson suggested that his Government was not ready to compromise.
Speaking in August after the previous Brexit talks ended, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: "Too often it felt as if we were going backwards more than forwards.
"Given the short time left, what I said in July remains true. Today at this stage, an agreement between the UK and the European Union seems unlikely."
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