Eurocrats mock ‘gangster’ Davis
BRUSSeLS yesterday accused David Davis of behaving like a ‘gangster’ and jeopardising the chances of reaching a final Brexit deal.
In an extraordinary attack, eU officials took aim at the Brexit Secretary for claiming that last week’s breakthrough agreement could be scrapped by the UK.
Senior figures branded his intervention ‘unacceptable’ and vowed to take a more stubborn approach when deciding whether to give the go-ahead to trade talks.
Brussels chiefs even claimed that the Brexit agreement, expected to be signed off by eU leaders later this week, would be ‘David Davis proof’ so it cannot be amended by the UK.
The row was kick-started after Mr Davis pointed out that promises signed off by the Prime Minister last week were not set in stone and depended on the eU agreeing a future trade agreement. While Brussels has admitted the deal is not legally binding, officials said any attempts to go back on the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ would see trade talks break down.
Criticism against the Mr Davis was fuelled by the european Parliament, where MePs made the unprecedented decision to criticise him in an official motion. Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament’s Brexit chief, said Mr Davis’s ‘own goal’ had risked tarnishing the positivity on both sides, adding: ‘I have seen a hardening of the position of the [eU leaders].’
Belgian MeP Philippe Lamberts said: ‘How can Britain be taken seriously globally if it behaves like a gangster in its international relationships?’ The eU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier also claimed Brussels was remaining ‘vigilant’ after Mr Davis’s remarks.
The intervention forced Mr Davis into a salvage mission involving an urgent call with Mr Verhofstadt, who he later described as his ‘friend’ on Twitter. He said they had agreed that last week’s agreement should be ‘converted into legal text as soon as possible’.
While the row will prove hugely frustrating for Downing Street, senior eU sources yesterday said a final deal is expected to signed off without problems at a summit this week.
However, referring to a draft text to be voted on today that sets out the eU parliament’s Brexit stance, they added: ‘The draft guidelines are Minister Davis proof. The guidelines [on trade talks] will be very clear what happens if the progress achieved in the first phase is not respected.’
Britain’s economy could receive a £50billion boost if it succeeds in negotiating comprehensive trade deals with both the eU and US after Brexit, a study found yesterday.
economic analysis by the Rand Corporation, which offered eight possible scenarios for leaving the eU, outlined a potential ‘trilateral’ trade deal that would eliminate most tariffs.