Barnier sticks to EU’s ‘four freedoms’ in new UK offer
‘EU cannot give up its laws’
‘A deal has to be reached’
MICHEL Barnier has said he is ‘ready to improve’ the EU’s offer to Britain on Brexit, but would not compromise on the single market rules London has firmly rejected.
The chief negotiator on UK departure described the Irish border as the ‘single biggest risk’ caused by Brexit, amid fears of a return to violence.
While he appeared to offer an olive branch, he reiterated that he will not compromise on the EU’s four freedoms – the free movement of people, goods, services and finances, describing them as the bloc’s ‘biggest achievement’.
He said: ‘The UK wants to keep free movement of goods between us, but not of people and services. And it proposes to apply EU customs rules without being part of the EU’s legal order.
‘Thus, the UK wants to take back sovereignty and control of its own laws, which we respect, but it cannot ask the EU to lose control of its borders and laws,’ he wrote in an opinion piece yesterday. ‘But I remain confident that the negotiations can reach a good outcome.’
He added: It is possible to respect EU principles and create a new and ambitious partnership.’
Mr Barnier also talked up the prospect of reaching a new trade deal ‘unprecedented in scope and depth’ with the UK, if a deal on the backstop preventing a hard border can be reached soon.
The UK government says it remains fully committed to the backstop it signed up to in December, but says it disagrees with the legal text on it that the EU wishes to include in the withdrawal deal. This is the area where the EU is prepared to provide flexibility.
Fine Gael senator Neale Richmond, the party’s spokesman on European Affairs in the Seanad, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘What Barnier is saying is that we’re not rigidly attached to the wording that was produced by the EU back in February and was dismissed out of hand by Theresa May.
‘But we had hoped that they would put forward an alternaat tive wording and that hasn’t happened. So what the EU is saying now, and perhaps we haven’t been saying it loudly enough, is that we are not married to the text that was produced earlier this year.’
Mr Richmond revealed that the EU is likely to produce a second, alternative wording on the backstop text in the coming weeks in a bid to speed negotiations along with the prospect of a dreaded no-deal Brexit looming large.
Talks have been stalling in recent months, leading the EU and the UK to begin contingency planning for a no-deal scenario – including the stockpiling of drugs and medicines.
But Mr Richmond has indicated that relations between the two sides have improved since David Davis was replaced as UK Brexit secretary by Dominic Raab.
‘I think there’s been a realisation that a deal has to be reached. The EU side has been the table and ready to play ball for the last 12 months.
‘The UK went ahead and started this process by triggering Article 50 two years ago, and two years later they still haven’t told us what they want,’ he said.
‘If you look at his record, David Davis was in Brussels for a total of four hours this year. That’s a damning indictment of how they have approached these talks.’
Fianna Fáil Brexit spokeswoman Lisa Chambers gave a cautious welcome to Mr Barnier’s words.
‘It’s one thing to offer to reword the backstop, but the intention of the backstop cannot change. Ultimately, the backstop has to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland until such time as another solution is found.
‘So even if it is reworded, it’s hard to see how it can be changed,’ she said.
‘However, it is a sign that the EU is willing to be flexible and I think that will be welcomed by the UK. It’s vital now that we get talks back on track to avoid a no-deal Brexit in March next year.’