On BFM Business: “Will we avoid a Brexit without agreement? »
Yves Bertoncini was the guest of BFM Business’s Inside show on Wednesday 2 October 2019 to analyse the new plan proposed by Boris Johnson to the European Union.
“Difficult at this stage for Europeans to accept”
Yves Bertoncini began by deciphering the British Prime Minister’s new proposal. Unlike the agreement negotiated by Theresa May that Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom should remain in both the Single Market and the Customs Union for the sake of simplicity, Boris Johnson proposes to separate the status of Northern Ireland from that of the Single Market, while the rest of the United Kingdom would emerge. This arrangement would only have a limited duration – 4 years renewable – unlike Theresa May’s backstop, which was supposed to be a permanent solution for lack of anything better.
If the Europeans accept this new agreement, there is a provisional period of 3 years during which the British continue to apply EU standards while officially leaving. On the other hand, the acceptance of this proposal may complicate the definition of the long-term relationship.
For the President of the European Movement – France, “Boris Johnson plays a strategy of tension: ‘Now it’s a take it or leave it. If you are not happy, there will be a Brexit without agreement on October 31’. We are more than ever in a game of lying poker between London and the Europeans”.
“A lot of political politics for elections”
Yves Bertoncini reminded us that we must not “confuse the electoral strategy (iste) and the business plan“. The situation is very bad for the British economy: the London Stock Exchange in particular lost 3 points. But Boris Johnson is doing well in preparation for the election he wants to call as quickly as possible – and he can potentially win this bet because in the latest polls the Conservative party is still well ahead.
The President of the European Movement – France nevertheless points out that if Boris Johnson ever leaves the post of Prime Minister because of the conflict he has with Parliament refusing a Brexit without agreement, the Conservative Party may be tempted to find an alternative for him.
Click on this link to watch the video (1:13:55 – 1:25:43).