EU Ready to Call Johnson Bluff, Betting He Won’t Quit Talks
- Bloc doesn’t rule out Brexit talks dragging into November
- U.K. wants clarity by Oct. 15 that a deal is going to happen
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The European Union has no plans to offer concessions to Boris Johnson before next week’s Brexit deadline, betting that the U.K. prime minister won’t make good on threats to walk away from trade negotiations if he doesn’t get what he wants.
The bloc is ready to let U.K. talks drag on into November or December, and even take a chance on Johnson pulling the plug on the deliberations rather than compromise on its red lines, according to a senior EU diplomat. The high-stakes strategy was confirmed by a second EU official.