Last night Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen met for dinner in Brussels, but by all accounts came no closer to ending the deadlock over an UK-EU trade deal ahead of the fixed end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December. The two have committed to a new deadline of Sunday (13 December) to reach an agreement. In practice talks may continue throughout December, not least as neither side wants to be seen as the one that walked away. The most important difference, more substantive even than the fraught question of fishing rights, is the so-called level playing field.
This means that the depth of the UK-EU trading relationship should reflect the degree of alignment between the two economies on regulation, tax and state aid. The closer the relationship, goes the logic, the more the two sides need to be aligned on those matters to prevent unfair competition. British negotiators have already agreed to a “non-regression” principle whereby the UK will commit not to weaken current standards. But that leaves open several big questions.
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