Macron Says Not Certain If EU and UK Will Have Trade Deal By End of Year

The United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on 31 January and is now in an 11-month transition period to decide on its future economic and political relationship with the bloc.

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed uncertainty about a trade deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom being struck by the end of 2020, Reuters reported on Saturday.

He also added that the talks between the two parties are expected to be "tough".

"Boris Johnson has a card in his hand and it is fishing and with that he will try to gain access to the market", Macron told reporters. "It is not certain that we will have a global deal by the end of the year."

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian also signaled that the EU and Britain could "rip each other apart" during the negotiations which are set to begin in March.

UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued there was no need for a trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy "or any other issues".

After the UK officially left the bloc, a deadline was set for 31 December to agree on free trade agreements with the European Union, otherwise, the economic relationship would be based on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.

(SPUTNIK)