‘Brexit will hurt both EU and UK’
Council president Tusk warns there is no way both parties can emerge unscathed from split
THE EU has firmly rebuffed Theresa May’s ‘pick and mix’ vision for trade after Brexit and, instead, suggested a much narrower arrangement which it warned would have ‘negative economic consequences’ for Europe and the UK. And European Council president Donald Tusk will arrive in Dublin today for talks with Leo Varadkar after warning of a ‘costly and complicated’ Brexit.
The Taoiseach will meet with Mr Tusk this afternoon to discuss the negotiating guidelines, their economic impact and rising concerns about a hard border. Yesterday the EU published its draft guidelines for a post-Brexit trade deal, after which Mr Tusk insisted there was no upside to the UK-EU divorce, and no possibility of an agreement that could make trade frictionless.
Under the guidelines, which need to be negotiated between the 27 member states ahead of an EU summit at the end of the month, the UK would be offered a free trade deal similar to the one agreed with Canada. The six-page document says only a limited Canada-style free trade deal is possible as long as the UK government sticks to its current Brexit red lines, and rules out Theresa May’s calls for a comprehensive, bespoke free trade agreement.
The document states that a future trade agreement with the UK will only be possible if all the commitments they have made so far ‘are respected in full’, including the December joint report containing the so-called ‘backstop’ deal.
The new guidelines call for zero-tariffs on goods but rules out ‘cherry picking’ of services by the UK, who are seeking access to the Single Market for Britain’s financial services industry.
Mr Tusk has warned that access for services will be limited by the fact that Britain will no longer share a common regulatory and judiciary framework.
‘Our agreement will not make trade between the UK and EU frictionless or smoother. It will make it more complicated and costly than today for all of us. This is the essence of Brexit,’ Mr Tusk said yesterday.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil yesterday that the UK is finally beginning to understand the negotiating power of the EU27. ‘We negotiate... as one of the 27 member states, led by the Barnier task force and we are stronger for that,’ Mr Varadkar said.
‘The United Kingdom might be starting to understand that negotiating with a bloc ten times bigger than one’s self is not a strong position in which to be.’ He added: ‘We will not allow ourselves to be cleaved from the European Union and any negotiations that occur will take place between the European Union and the United Kingdom, with our input into the European Union’s position.
‘Over the last year or so, we have successfully ensured that Irish issues are Europe’s issues and we have the unanimous support of prime ministers across Europe for our position.’
Fianna Fáil Brexit spokesman Stephen Donnelly has warned a Canada-style trade deal would threaten ‘tens of thousands of Irish jobs’.
The Wicklow TD said: ‘President Tusk has confirmed that trade will become less smooth, would not be frictionless, and would, in fact, see the EU and the UK drift apart. That means higher costs and falling competitiveness for Irish businesses trading with the UK.’
He said Ireland must immediately step up its efforts to access non-EU markets and warned about the lack of preparedness among Irish businesses.
Mr Donnelly remarked: ‘Only 6% of SMEs have a formal Brexit plan in place, that’s the reality on the ground.’
‘Complicated and costly’