THE German government is urging other EU countries to brace themselves for a “no deal Brexit” – wreaking havoc with trade and compounding the coronavirus economic fallout. An internal German document casts doubt on Britain’s optimism over chances of an early agreement on its future ties with the bloc. In a report to the Dáil last week, EU affairs minister, Helen McEntee, said Dublin still hoped for a limited UK-EU deal on trade which would minimise Irish trade devastation. But the German government document, seen by the news agency Reuters and dated June 15, shows that Berlin expects the negotiations to take longer. The German foreign affairs department is now convinced the transition deal will not be extended beyond the end of this year, this document indicated.

Source: Irish Independent June 17, 2020 21:00 UTC