Economics

Boris Johnson, Ursula Von Der Leyen Set Out Rival Red Lines for Post-Brexit

U.K. prime minister says U.K. won’t stay aligned to EU rules
EU chief says impossible to get full deal by year-end deadline

WATCH: Johnson and Von der Leyen have set out rival red lines for their visions of a post-Brexit deal.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Alex Morales and Ian Wishart

January 8, 2020 at 6:46 PM UTC

Updated on

January 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen set out rival red lines for their visions of a post-Brexit deal in the first clash of a negotiation set to be thornier than the fraught talks to secure Britain’s divorce from the bloc.

At their first face-to-face meeting since von der Leyen took office as president of the EU Commission Dec. 1, the prime minister stressed that Britain won’t extend the country’s post-Brexit transition period beyond the end of the year, and that he wants to broker a Canada-style free trade accord, his office said.