a Good three weeks after the UK’s exit from the EU, the remaining 27 member States have their line for the upcoming negotiations with the British government on the future relationship between both sides matched. The Europe Ministers approved in Brussels on Tuesday will take up the mandate for the negotiations, the chief negotiator Michel Barnier in the coming week. The talks are under enormous time pressure, since the transitional phase, in which the ratio of the EU and the UK is in a Practical unchanged, will only last until the end of the year.

Werner Mussler

economic correspondent in Brussels.

F. A. Z.

in view of the considerable differences of opinion about the structure of the future Treaty is very ambitious. While in the political Declaration, which has accompanied the Brexit at the end of January, of the speech, that in future it should give a “fair and equitable competition”, a so-called “Level Playing Field”, between the continent and the British. What that means in practice, but is open. Great Britain claimed the widest possible access to the EU internal market, while the EU insists that it must include the compliance in the internal market, the existing Social, environmental and climate standards.

time until about the end of October

“There must be no social dumping, and there should be no environmental dumping,” said Minister of state for Europe Michael Roth (SPD) in Brussels on Tuesday. The French Secretary of state, Amélie de Montchalin said, “the interests of the Europeans” would have to be protected. The EU will monitor compliance with any future agreements and a violation of sanction. “We provide a substantial, ambitious, balanced, far-reaching partnership,” said the President-in-office, Croatia’s state Secretary Andreja Metelko-Zgombic. Roth emphasised that the EU States will stand together behind Barnier and would not be divided.

the contract Should take effect as planned at the beginning of January 2021, is for negotiations only until the end of October time. Since then the Treaty has to be ratified by the EU member States and the European Parliament. This tight schedule can only be kept when the ratio of the two sides of little changes. This contradicts, however, the will of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who wants a as far as possible, access to the single market, but are no longer the rules, the EU wants to throw.