LONDON — Britain’s international trade minister says it’s likely the U.K. will fail to agree upon a divorce deal with the European Union before it leaves the bloc in March — the latest in a growing chorus of warnings that the negotiations are in crisis.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the Sunday Times newspaper that “intransigence” by EU officials “is pushing us towards no deal.” He put the chance of Britain crashing out without a deal at 60 percent.
Britain and the EU say they aim to hammer out an agreement on divorce terms and future trade by October so that it can be approved by all individual EU countries before the U.K. leaves the bloc on March 29.
But the talks have stalled, and the British government is trying to heap pressure on the other 27 EU nations to compromise by stressing the economic harm to all sides that would come from a “no-deal” Brexit that imposes tariffs and other barriers on U.K.-EU trade.
Fox accused EU officials of putting a “theological obsession” with sticking to the rules ahead of “the economic wellbeing of the people of Europe.” EU officials say Britain has failed to make realistic proposals about future ties. They accuse the U.K. of seeking to retain the benefits of EU membership — such as free trade — without accepting the bloc’s rules, including the free movement of people among member states. (AP)