16-12-2020 The Asian Independent

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16-12-2020 to 31-12-2020 ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
EU, UK agree to continue Brexit trade talks
London : The European Union
(EU) and the UK have agreed to continue
Brexit trade talks in hopes of
reaching an agreement before the transition
period ends on December 31.
Sunday had been slated as a cut-off
point to reach an agreement before the
end of the UK's Brexit transition period,
Xinhua news agency reported.
But in a surprise move, UK Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and European
Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen agreed that negotiations
between both sides should continue
beyond the deadline.
After a "constructive and useful
phone call" with Johnson, von der
Leyen said in a statement late Sunday
that despite the fact that deadlines
have been missed over and over, "we
both think it is responsible at this point
to go the extra mile".
Further negotiations will take place
in Brussels, von der Leyen said,
adding that it remains to be seen if an
agreement can be reached even "at this
late stage".
The development raised hopes on
both sides of the English Channel, that
at the 11th hour, a future trading deal
between both sides started to appear
on the horizon.
Despite the last-minute extension,
Johnson said both sides remain "very
far apart on key issues".
"We are always happy to talk and
make progress where we can. I do
think there is a deal to be done, if our
partners, want to do it," he told the
media. The Sunday deadline had been
Lahore : Former
Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif
addressed the PDM
opposition alliance's
final power show in
Lahore, during which
he accused his successor
Imran Khan for the
countrys "prevailing
woes", the media
reported on Monday.
Despite the Pakistan
government's ban on
holding public rallies in
the wake of the unabated
Covid-19 pandemic,
the Pakistan
Democratic Movement
held the power show, dubbed as
‘first phase' on Sunday at the
city's Minar-i-Pakistan, reports
The Express Tribune.
Sharif addressed the rally
via video-link from London,
where he has been residing
since last year for medical
treatment.
In his speech, the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-
N) supremo said that Khan was
not only responsible for the
country's situation but also
those who brought him into
power.
"They pushed the country
into unprecedented inflation
and unemployment," the ousted
premier said, adding that
set on the basis that time was needed
for the British and the European parliaments
to ratify the deal.
Under the EU rules, a veto from
just one member state would be
enough to reject any deal.
The continuation agreement was
welcomed by politicians and business
leaders, though companies were still
being urged to ready themselves for a
Sharif addresses PDM Lahore
power show from London
Khan's suppoerters were minting
money out of wheat and
sugar crisis. He further said that
if the incumbent "fake regime"
continues to be in former, it
will further "jeopardise the
country's security".
"Time has come to get freedom
from this selected set-up,"
Sharif said, adding the country
can never prosper without a
change in system and under
"hijacked democracy", The
Express Tribune reported.
Other opposition leaders
who addressed the rally were
PDM convener and Jamiat
Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief
Maulana Fazlur Rehman,
PML-N Vice President
no-deal exit from the regional bloc.
In its first response to Sunday's
development, a spokesperson for the
UK's main opposition Labour Party
said: "The Conservatives promised the
British people that they had an ovenready
deal and that they would get
Brexit done.
"The government needs to deliver
on that promise, get us the deal and
Maryam Nawaz and
Pakistan Peoples' Party
Chairman Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari, among
others.
Sunday's rally comes
five days after the PDM
announced on
December 8 that all parliamentarians
belonging
to its constituent parties
would submit their resignations
from the
national and provincial
assemblies December
31 in a last-ditch
attempt against the
incumbent Imran Khanled
government.
The Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) also announced
that by-elections would be held
if the National Assembly
speaker accepted the resignations
of the opposition lawmakers
from the lower house of
parliament.
The PDM has been holding
public rallies across Pakistan
without permission from district
authorities to hold them in
the wake of the current Covid-
19 situation.
The five earlier PDM rallies
were held on October 16 in
Gujranwala, October 19 in
Karachi, October 25 in Quetta,
November 22 in Peshawar and
November 30 in Multan.
allow us to move on as a country."
Simon Coveney, Ireland's Foreign
Minister, said on Twitter: "Time to
hold our nerve and allow the negotiators
to inch progress forward even at
this late stage.
"The joint statement on Brexit
negotiations is a good signal. A deal
clearly very difficult but possible."
Tony Danker, director-general of
the Confederation of British Industry
(CBI), said: "The news that talks will
continue gives hope. A deal is both
essential and possible. It is the only
way to build upon the extensive support
for the economy given by all governments
during the pandemic.
Without it, that progress is undermined."
He said the UK government must
move with even more determination to
avoid the looming cliff edge of
January 1, 2021.
A trade deal needs to be agreed
upon by London and Brussels before
the transition period expires.
Failure to reach the agreement
means bilateral trade will fall back on
World Trade Organization rules in
2021.
The British and EU leaders have
said significant differences still remain
between the two sides on three critical
issues: level playing field, governance
and fisheries.
Meanwhile, Adam Marshall, director
general of British Chambers of
Commerce, said: "This is a very frustrating
time for business as they anxiously
wait for decisions about the
terms of trade with the EU come
January 1.
"If a few more hours or days makes
the difference, keep going, and get an
agreement that delivers clarity and
certainty to businesses and trade on
both sides. Businesses will need time
and support to adjust in a New Year
like no other -- whatever the eventual
outcome."