London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the European Union (EU) must scrap demands that he says are unacceptable if a Brexit trade deal is to be ironed out.
Johnson was headed for Brussels on Wednesday to meet European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen over dinner as fears grew of a no-deal finale to the Brexit crisis.
Both sides acknowledge that there is a danger that Britain will finally leave the European Union on December 31 with no deal in place.
Johnson said the EU wants the UK to comply with its future laws or be punished, and wanted it to give up control over British fishing waters.
The UK formally left the EU in January, but has since been in a transition, which ends on 31 December.
While Johnson claims Brexit will give Britain a fully independent, more agile economy, the Brussels fears he wants the best of both worlds—preferential access to markets and the advantage of setting its own rules.
Fishing rights in UK’s waters, fair competition for firms on both sides, and the process to solve disputes in future have been the sticky points.