EU to struggle with united front in Brexit talks after coronavirus ‘host of issues’
As it stands, the transition period will end on December 31, 2020 although the current coronavirus pandemic has delayed talks so far. Boris Johnson has continued to resist demands to extend the transition period, although several officials have declared an extension is now inevitable due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Not only could the virus force an extension to Brexit but could also force EU to change how it works to survive.
Italy has suffered the highest death toll on the continent and Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte has criticised the EU for not acting soon enough to support the state.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, professor Alex de Ruyter director of Birmingham University’s Centre for Brexit Studies, stated the bloc may struggle to present a unified negotiating platform going forward following the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr de Ruyter said: “The EU has worked extremely hard to maintain post-Brexit unity and at the moment this is continuing.
“So far, Brexit has seemed more likely to break up the UK than the rest of the EU.
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“However, remember that in the event of a so-called ‘mixed agreement’, every member state has a veto so expect a host of issues to come up.”
In light of the coronavirus crippling the continent, Italian MEP Mara Bizzotto savaged the bloc and insisted the country is sick of paying for Europe.
She said: “Dear European bureaucrats, you are out of your mind. The people of Italy are sick of paying for Europe.
“Italians are sick of every year having millions of euros stolen from their pockets.”
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European leaders discussed a fiscal package on Thursday, with some officials declaring a substantial fund was needed help restore the trade bloc.
States across the EU were asked to consider Spain’s £1.3trillion investment package to rebuild the worst-hit countries.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte put forward a coronabond plan, although states such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have rejected the plan.
The plan would increase the debt across the continent in order for countries to help pay for the impact of the coronavirus.
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In keeping with Italy’s criticism for the bloc, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has stated the bloc is facing its worst crisis since the Second World War.
Writing in The Guardian earlier this month, he said: “Europe is enduring its worst crisis since the second world war.
“Our citizens are dying, or fighting for their lives in hospitals that are overwhelmed by a pandemic which represents the greatest threat to public health since the 1918 flu pandemic.
“And we must act now or never, because, right at this moment, Europe itself is at stake.”
Ahead of the discussions on Thursday, Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister said the EU must take up the large proposal to keep the bloc alive.
Speaking to Euronews, she said: “What we need in this crisis is, either we all sink or we all float.
“Spain wants everybody to float, for sure, and this is why what we have done is what every country who wants to help build consensus in Europe would do.
“We put a fiscal proposal on the table, a proposal that is responsible, it builds on existing mechanisms, it’s ambitious.”
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