(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. will probably need significantly longer than eleven months to strike a future trade deal with the European Union, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator warned.
The two sides currently have until the end of 2020 to reach an accord on trade under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is adamant that deadline will be met. That’s unlikely, the EU’s Michel Barnier said in a speech in Belfast on Monday.
The Withdrawal Agreement, which sets out the terms of Britain’s divorce from the EU, “provides us with at least 11 months of continuity,” Barnier said. “We also need this time –- and probably much more -– to build a new relationship.”
Barnier said Johnson needs to clarify exactly how much the U.K. will move away from EU standards as it exits. Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Sunday the U.K. won’t align with the EU, something Barnier has insisted is needed for significant access to the single market after Brexit.
“It is not clear to me where, or by how much, it wishes to diverge: on standards relating to the safety and quality of products? Or on those relating to fair competition?” Barnier said.
“It is not clear to me whether, when the U.K. leaves the EU and the single market, it will also choose to leave Europe’s societal and regulatory model,” he said. “That is the key question, and we are waiting for an answer.”
Barnier made clear that goods shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be checked to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Johnson has at times been ambiguous on the question.
Johnson Seeks to Calm Northern Irish Concern Over Brexit Plan
“The EU must be able to assess risks on any product coming into its market and, if necessary, activate physical controls,” Barnier said, adding checks are “indispensable.” “These checks must take place somewhere.”
Nonetheless, he pledged to be respectful in negotiations.
“We have always stuck to this line: No aggressiveness, no punishment, no spirit of revenge,” he said.