Postponing the inevitable

The latest negotiating deadline for Brexit takes it down to the wire

After dramatic late dinners and reports of the UK Navy preparing to mobilise warships against French fisherman, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to set a new, unspecified, deadline to extend negotiations over a Brexit deal. This marks, since mid-October, the fourth postponement of the deadline to create the full legal text for the UK and EU-27 member countries to ratify. This latest extension does not, however, mean a shift of the final December 31 deadline when the transition period ends and the UK will have to leave the European Union