Coronavirus forces Brexit negotiators to cancel London talks
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to walk away in June if he doesn't think he has a good chance of a deal.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - Next week's negotiations in London between the United Kingdom and European Union over their post-Brexit relationship have been called off because of the coronavirus.
The second round of face-to-face talks, scheduled to start on March 18, won't take place as planned, the UK and EU said in a joint statement on Thursday (March 12).
The discussions involve more than 100 negotiators from the two parties.
"Both sides are currently exploring alternative ways to continue discussions including, if possible, the use of video conferences," they said.
The move leaves the two sides with even less time to reach an agreement.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to walk away in June if he doesn't think he has a good chance of a deal.
If no agreement is reached, the UK and the EU will default to trading on World Trade Organisation terms on Jan 1, 2020.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove on Thursday expressly ruled out any extension of that deadline.
After the first round of discussions on Britain's future relationship last week, both sides had played down the chances of a delay - but the EU has since cancelled all but the most urgent meetings on other issues in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
