Asselborn considers the situation dire given that the actual Brexit referendum happened four years ago. A Monday night telephone call between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laster for over an hour and finally ended without a real solution to show for.
Negotiators have now been tasked with creating an overview of opinion differences, before Johnson will fly to Brussels for a continuation of talks with von der Leyen.
Our colleagues from RTL talked to Minister Asselborn on the phone, who commented on the potential outcome of negotiations: “There are still 4 different ways the talks could finish. For one, there may still be a major development over the coming days, even if it looks highly unlikely right no. But you never know! Discussions could also turn sour and evolve into veritable fights until an agreement is found. Some also believe that a break-through can still be reached before New Year’s Eve. And finally, we could still end up with no deal at all.”
Minister Asselborn further assured that the Luxembourgish administration had initiated steps to prepare for either outcome. Nevertheless, he believes that a “responsible administration” will not refuse the proposal by the EU commission, which he considers “extremely fair”.
