Security fears will let UK get better deal on Brexit, says FG MEP
THE EU will have to give in to some British Brexit demands in exchange for security support, a Fine Gael MEP has claimed. Brian Hayes spoke out in the light of terrorism and cybercrime fears, and concerns that after Britain leaves, France will be the only major military power in the EU.
Angela Merkel has already warned, last year, that Europe will no longer be able to rely on the US under Donald Trump.
Referring to ‘the four freedoms’ of the Single Market – free movement of workers, goods, capital and services – Mr Hayes said consideration would have to be given to offering the UK some concessions on them, most likely immigration.
He said: ‘It’s certainly an exchange that I think is going to be considered because you can’t have an effective security and defence policy in the region without British involvement. How much we’re willing to pay for it is another matter.
‘I think there will be some kind of, not a sidebar deal, but I think it will be part of the negotiation, this kind of unwritten acceptance that they have to be part of the security apparatus. The other part is, there is a plan on the part of the Commission that, post-2020, there will be a €5billion European Defence Fund. How is that going to be assembled without the British is the question?’
So far, the EU has been determined to avoid any deal that could undermine the four freedoms.
However, there are growing concerns that European security could well be significantly weakened if Britain quits the EU without a deal, and if it does not take part in mutually beneficial defence and security arrangements to the same extent as it does now.
Under President Trump, the US has signalled its discontent with shouldering the majority of Nato’s defence budget, and this too is an issue of concern.
Mr Hayes says he believes that this climate gives Britain a strong hand that it has yet to play in the negotiations.
He added: ‘There is some diminution of Nato as a consequence of what the Trump presidency is saying, and lecturing the Europeans about their defence expenditure. And he has a point. They used US expenditure for many years as a cover. France and Germany are very conscious of that.
‘In terms of the Brexit scenario, I get a sense, politically, that there’s a very strong resolve on the part of Angela Merkel and [Emmanuel] Macron to be much clearer in this space and to do more in this space.
‘Even France are doing things external to the EU at the moment,’ he said.
‘They think building up capacity is not just important in the context of the downgrading of Nato, but also important in the context of the post-Brexit world.
‘So I think it is a card that the British have to play.’
However, it would be extremely difficult for the European Union to allow one country to flout the rules of the Single Market, which has been so often held up as the pillar of the union.
Fellow Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness stood by the four freedoms, saying: ‘We don’t know what the agreement will be. The four freedoms are very important to Europe and I think there will be political opposition to anything along those lines.’
She added: ‘But there are some areas, and I think there will be give and take along the way, but it is going to be very important for us to have the UK involved.’
‘There will be some kind of a deal’