Germany: EU-Britain free trade deal talks will be under great time pressure
“We won’t be able to settle all areas in detail by the end of 2020,”
FILE PHOTO: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends a meeting with foreign Ministers and officials from countries neighbouring Libya to discuss the conflict in Libya, in Algiers, Algeria January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told a newspaper chain that talks between Britain and the European Union on striking a free trade deal would be intense and take place under great time pressure.
"We won't be able to settle all areas in detail by the end of 2020," Maas told the RND newspaper network.
Britain will leave the European Union on Friday and Prime Minister Boris Johnson says 11 months is time enough to strike a "zero tariff, zero quota" trade deal. He has vowed — even though the option is there — not to extend the limbo period beyond 2020.
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