• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Not again! PM rebuffed in new bid to speak with Merkel and Macron over Brexit

The Telegraph reported that last week that Mr Johnson was blocked three times from speaking directly with the German and French leaders as the EU sought to keep a united front over the Brexit talks.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
December 13, 2020
in Politics

The PM has confirmed he has been rebuffed again in efforts to speak with European Union leaders as he strives to secure fresh trade terms.

Senior ministers have said in recent days that the current logjam in the post-Brexit trade talks requires a political solution, with the Prime Minister offering last week to tour European capitals in order to iron out the remaining differences.

But Mr Johnson confirmed that the European Commission has once again blocked his attempts to engage directly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron as negotiations enter the 11th hour.

The two leaders are seen as powerbrokers in signing off on any EU compromises that might be required to ratify a deal.

Phone call

Mr Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed during a phone call on Sunday to continue trade negotiations, rolling over the deadline which had previously been set for the end of the weekend.

They agreed to go the “extra mile” in a bid to prevent a no-deal scenario on January 1 when transition arrangements come to an end.

Speaking from Downing Street after the call, Mr Johnson told broadcasters: “I’ve repeated my offer, which is if it is necessary to talk to other capitals, I’m very happy to do that.

RelatedPosts

‘Humiliating for Boris Johnson’ as Union unit to be replaced with new committee

Lisa Nandy on fire as she takes down ‘ungradeable’ Williamson and calls out Hancock’s cronyism

Keir Starmer’s worst enemy? Sian Berry on why Greens are mopping up Labour votes

‘This was the deal they demanded’ – dismay as Tory Eurosceptics demand Protocol is ditched

“The Commission is very determined to keep the negotiations to the way they have been done, between us and the Commission. That’s fine.”

Merkel Macron
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (centre) and French President Emmanuel Macron (right) are seen as powerbrokers in the bid for a Brexit trade deal (Neil Hall/PA)

Germany’s Mrs Merkel is a close ally of Mrs von der Leyen, who previously served in her cabinet, while the French president is seen as having a major role to play in solving the UK and EU differences on fishing rights.

Mr Macron has reportedly threatened to veto a UK-EU trade deal after expressing dissatisfaction at the new quota terms being thrashed out for his fishermen.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made clear on Sunday that the Government feels there needs to be political movement among Europe’s leaders rather than a technical breakthrough in the conversations between the chief negotiators.

Confident

Lord Frost and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, recommenced talks in the Belgian capital at 8am on Sunday.

Mr Raab told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “We want to be treated like any other independent self-respecting democracy.

“If the EU can accept that at a political level then there’s every reason to be confident, but there is still, I think, a long way to go.”

The Telegraph reported that last week that Mr Johnson was blocked three times from speaking directly with the German and French leaders as the EU sought to keep a united front over the Brexit talks.

The paper said the Conservative Party leader raised the prospect of a meeting with Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron when at dinner in Brussels with Mrs von der Leyen on Wednesday.

Europe’s top official is said to have told Mr Johnson he was welcome to make the offer but that she knew it would be turned down.

Related: Reactions as Mail on Sunday accused of ‘xenophobic trash’ as Express declares we are ready for no-deal

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

How To Make: Curry and Rice

How To Make: Curry and Rice

‘Humiliating for Boris Johnson’ as Union unit to be replaced with new committee

Tomahawk Steak recipe | Photo by patrick le on Unsplash

How To Make: The Perfect Tomahawk Steak

Woman realizing mistake and keeping hand on head over white background

Had a rough pandemic? It could be worse, you could have got this tattoo in March 2020

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.