We MUST take back our borders – Davis
But day one of talks sees Britain give ground by agreeing trade deal delay
‘Plenty of twists and turns’
DAVID Davis nailed his colours to the mast yesterday on the first day of Brexit negotiations as he insisted the UK needed to regain control of its borders.
And he declared that Britain would leave the single market and customs union – effectively killing off speculation that his team would opt for a softer stance.
However, the Brexit Secretary, who is leading the British negotiations, was forced to make a significant concession, agreeing to sideline talks on a trade deal.
In an aggressive opening salvo, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier told Britain that talks on trade would only begin when ‘progress’ had been made on the size of Britain’s divorce bill and over an agreement to guarantee the rights of its citizens.
The UK had wanted the talks to happen simultaneously.
Mr Barnier also warned that any demands drawn up by Prime Minister Theresa May would be ignored and insisted that the decision to leave the single market would have serious consequences.
Mr Davis bowed to the pressure to put talks over a trade deal on hold, but insisted that a deal was achievable within the window for talks.
He declared the start of negotiations as ‘positive’ but rejected suggestions that – following Theresa May’s surprisingly poor electoral performance – the UK might drop its hard-line Brexit plan.
He insisted ‘the position hasn’t changed’, adding: ‘We need back control of our borders, we will leave the single market and the customs union.’
Appearing in Brussels a year after the UK’s decision to leave the bloc, the Brexit Secretary echoed Winston Churchill by saying ‘the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’.
Despite his positive assessment, Mr Davis faced embarrassment when the EU said it would decide when trade talks could begin.
He had previously insisted that the UK would reject the timetable drawn up by Brussels in what he promised would be ‘the row of the summer’.
But Mr Barnier said he and the EU’s remaining 27 members would only allow the talks when the UK made ‘sufficient progress’ on the terms of its divorce bill and on citizens’ rights. In a sign of the bruising clashes ahead, Mr Barnier signalled that he would refuse any package that does not meet the hard-line demands already set out by the bloc.
‘I am not in a frame of mind to make concessions, or ask for concessions,’ he said. ‘It’s not about punishment, it is not about revenge. Basically, we are implementing the decision taken by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, and unravel 43 years of patiently built relations.’
After negotiators from both sides met for talks lasting seven hours, the former French commissioner appeared frustrated as he promised to ‘put emotion to one side’.
‘The United Kingdom is going to leave the European Union, single market and the customs union, not the other way around,’ he added. ‘So, we each have to assume our responsibility and the consequences of our decisions. And the consequences are substantial.’
Mr Barnier also mirrored his counterpart’s reference to Churchill by quoting one of the European Union’s founding fathers, Jean Monnet. ‘I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic, I’m determined,’ he said.
Despite his approach, Mr Barnier insisted that he did not harbour any ‘hostility’ towards Mr Davis who he first met while they both worked as Europe ministers during the 1990s.
‘A fair deal is possible and far better than no deal,’ he added. ‘That is what I said to David today. That’s why we will work all the time with the UK and never against the UK.’
Mr Davis acknowledged the immediate difficulties in negotiations, adding: ‘ It’s not how it starts, it’s how it finishes.’
Before the start of yesterday’s negotiating period, Mr Davis told both teams that they were starting a journey ‘no doubt with plenty of twists and turns’.
But the Tory minister, who has been rumoured as a possible Conservative Party leader, said the UK will seek a clear relationship on trade and security and that the ‘destination is clear’.
The UK’s concession on trade talks came after Mr Barnier piled on the pressure at the opening of talks yesterday by insisting that the UK must accept ‘divorce’ terms before talks begin.
The EU’s chief negotiator said he would brief EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday that the UK was willing to accept the demand.
Mr Davis’s team yesterday tried to silence accusations from Brussels that it was under-prepared by announcing a significant offer on the thorny citizens’ rights issue.
Mrs May will present the proposal to fellow EU leaders during the summit this week before the proposal is issued on Monday.
The move is expected to offer guarantees that the 1.3million EU citizens living in the UK will have access to healthcare and education as their citizenship status is guaranteed.
But the move is likely to fall short of the EU’s uncompromising demands, which insist that the European Court of Justice should oversee the rights.
It also emerged that what will happen to Northern Ireland’s border with the south has become a hugely contentious issue.