NOW THERE’S A SURPRISE!
In the most predictable response of the year, EU’s top negotiator scorns Mrs May’s Chequers Brexit blueprint...
Theresa May’s Chequers plan was rejected by the eU’s Brexit chief yesterday – partly because it would give UK firms a competitive edge.
Michel Barnier also said the Prime Minister’s customs proposals would create red tape and potentially fraud.
He insisted the four core principles of the single market – free movement of goods, services, capital and people – were indivisible and Britain could not cherry pick.
His comments enraged Eurosceptic MPs. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the ‘aggressive’ statement showed ‘why we are right to be leaving the mafia-like European Union’.
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: ‘He has let the cat out of the bag by acknowledging British firms could be more competitive.
‘He knows if Brexit is a success the whole of the EU will be called into question.’
Mr Barnier started by attacking the British proposal to stay aligned with the EU on goods but not services. Holding up his mobile
phone at a press conference in Brussels, he said: ‘Between 20 and 40 per cent of the value of this good is linked to services.
‘So how will we avoid unfair competition via the services because the UK would be free to diverge on services. How can we allow that? How can we avoid the UK companies having a significant competitive edge vis-a-vis the EU companies?
‘Our aim is to protect the interests of the EU in these negotiations.’
Mr Barnier also tore into Mrs May’s customs plans, under which Britain would apply either UK or EU tariffs depending on the destination of the goods in question.
The EU negotiator claimed it could create costly bureaucracy for firms and play into the hands of fraudsters.
He said: ‘Is there not a major risk of fraud? What would the financial and administrative extra costs be for businesses given this new dual system? Brexit cannot, and will not, justify additional bureaucracy. What would the impact be if the UK has tariffs lower than the EU tariffs?’
Mr Barnier also questioned whether it was legally feasible for the EU to let the UK collect customs revenues on its behalf.
He criticised the UK’s proposal for alignment on rules for agriculture and foods, saying this did not guarantee that products containing genetically-modified organisms
‘Play into the hands of fraudsters’
or pesticides would not enter the EU market from the UK. And he spelt out that the Brexit white paper would not be accepted in its current form.
But he said there were several elements in it that would open the way to a constructive discussion on Britain’s relationship with the EU after Brexit.
The negotiator noted that there was agreement on restricting state aid, on security cooperation and on the continued role of the European Court of Justice.
Responding to Mr Barnier’s comments, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Why would we want to give our services an advantage and handicap ourselves on goods? Mr Barnier’s negotiating stance is the same each time, he banks the concessions and then asks for more. What we need is a free trade deal like Canada.’
Eurosceptic MPs have said the Brexit white paper breaches red lines set out by Mrs May. Tory MP Nigel Evans said: ‘Mrs May has already conceded too much and he wants more. Mr Barnier should bite her hand off at what he’s already been offered.
‘There are a lot of people in the UK who voted to leave who already feel she has conceded too much. He’s continued to put up obstacles where they don’t exist and he clearly wants Brexit in name only so we will still be paying huge sums of money.’
Mr Barnier held face-to-face talks with new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab for the first time on Thursday and described the meeting as very useful and cordial.
He confirmed there had been no progress on the issue of the Irish border. Brussels has set a deadline of October to reach a deal on the withdrawal agreement, which is 80 per cent agreed.
This allows it to be ratified by the remaining 27 member states and the European Parliament in time for next March 29, when Britain is scheduled to leave the EU.
The UK has rejected the EU’s proposed ‘backstop’, which would effectively keep Northern Ireland within the EU customs union in the event that no deal is reached on the future trading relationship by the end of the standstill transition period at the close of 2020.