£20bn and a delayed Brexit
May uses speech in Florence to put Brexit on hold for two years
THERESA May yesterday revealed a £20billion plan to keep the UK in the EU single market after Brexit.
THERESA May slammed the brakes on Brexit yesterday as she effectively admitted Britain would not quit the European Union until 2021.
As fears grew that the divorce could become never-ending, the Prime Minister unveiled plans for a two-year transition period after March 2019.
Her gamble involves paying Brussels £20billion to continue accessing the single market and customs union on “current terms”.
It also means the UK in return would have to accept freedom of movement rules during that time.
Mrs May made the peace offer in Florence as part of a desperate bid to break the deadlock after negotiations stalled amid furious clashes over the terms of Brexit.
With talks due to resume next week, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed her “constructive” plea, but warned more progress was needed before negotiations start on a free trade deal.
The PM’s controversial decision to hit the pause button put her on a collision course with Brexiteers – as well as Remainers who slammed her speech as lacking in detail. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who sparked Tory turmoil last week when he waded into the Brexit debate, praised the PM’s blueprint as “positive, optimistic and dynamic”.
But angry former UKIP leader Nigel Farage warned: “Theresa May’s vision is that we leave the European Union but we do it in name only. We have a transitional period, that begins for two years and it could go on, of course, much longer than that, in which case we effectively don’t leave anything.” During her 35-minute speech at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church, Mrs May admitted the Government could not fully implement new arrangements for Brexit on March 29, 2019 – when the UK formally leaves.
Instead, she proposed an “implementation period” during which “the existing structure of EU rules and regulations” would apply – and people from the EU could continue to “live and work” in the UK under a registration scheme.
She said: “During the implementation period access to one another’s markets should continue on current terms and Britain also should continue to take part in existing security measures.” The PM
also called for a “bold new strategic agreement” with a treaty on security and vowed that the UK would honour its commitments under the existing budget period – which lasts until 2020.
On trade, she said the two sides could do “so much better” than adopt existing models and there was “no need to impose tariffs where there are none now”.
The PM made her address to a largely British audience. Boris Johnson was on the front row with Chancellor Philip Hammond, Brexit Secretary David Davis, and members of the Italian business community. But no leaders of the 27 other EU states were present.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was busy on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
EU negotiator Mr Barnier, who also did not attend, said the PM “expressed a constructive spirit which is also the spirit of the EU during this unique negotiation – the speech shows a willingness to move forward, as time is of the essence”.
But he pointed out that while her statements on EU citizens were “a step forward”, they “must now be translated into a precise negotiating position of the UK government”.
And he said he would need to examine the “concrete implications” of her pledge that no member state would have to pay more as a result of Brexit. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the speech suggested Mrs May had listened to his party and “faced up to the reality that Britain needs a transition on the same basic terms to provide stability for businesses and workers”. He added: “There has to be a transition period to protect jobs. Our whole point throughout this whole process has been a Brexit that damages employment and jobs is very, very dangerous for everybody in this country.” The speech was welcomed by pro-EU Tory MPs Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry. But pro-Brexit Owen Paterson said he was concerned about a two-year period during which “we are still bound in by European rules”. Scotland’s pro-EU Brexit Minister Michael Russell described the speech as “short on detail”. And anti-Brexit peer Peter Mandelson said: “Pushing the cliff-edge back by two years is no substitute for a well-thoughtthrough negotiating strategy.” The pound dropped against the US dollar and the euro after Mrs May’s speech yesterday.
May’s vision is that we leave the EU but we do it in name only NIGEL FARAGE RESPONDS TO YESTERDAY’S SPEECH Access to one another’s markets should continue on same terms THERESA MAY IN FLORENCE SPEECH