The EU’s trade chief has controversially declared Boris Johnson will either get a “bare bones” trade deal from Brussels next year or none at all.
Sabine Weyand told business bosses last week that talks will start as soon as possible if Britain leaves on January 31 as planned.
But she insisted the PM’s vow to seal a new arrangement with the EU by December 31, 2020, doesn’t leave enough time to strike a comprehensive deal.
That leaves two likely options, the EU’s Director General for Trade Ms Weyand said; a thin “bare bones” deal or a hard exit from the transition period without any deal, “for which our No Deal planning is very useful”, she added.
The senior official - who will lead talks with Britain over the future relationship - risked fresh controversy with the remarks.
They flatly contradict the Tory leader, who has insisted that 11 months is “bags of time” to strike a comprehensive trade deal to cover all of the UK’s needs.
Ms Weyand faced a backlash from Tory MPs for being the latest senior EU figure to intervene in Britain’s general election campaign.
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis dubbed German national Ms Weyand’s remarks “the usual bluster”. [...]
A basic trade deal would involve a straightforward agreement for zero tariffs and quotas on goods but no detail on regulations, meaning there would be significant checks and delays for products crossing borders.
Addressing the CBI yesterday, Mr Johnson again repeated his declaration that there would be “absolutely no reason” why a deal could not be cracked in the 11 months available.[...]
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