Sturgeon calls customs union plan ‘ridiculous’
PLANS for a temporary customs union with the European Union post-Brexit have been branded “daft” by Scotland’s First Minister.
Nicola Sturgeon dismissed proposals for Britain to keep the same EU customs arrangements for an interim period after leaving the bloc, calling on the UK Government to instead commit to staying in both the single market and the customs union.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said the temporary arrangement would avoid ‘’unnecessary disruption’’ for UK businesses.
But on Twitter, Ms Sturgeon said: “Seems UK gov is back to its daft ‘ have cake and eat it’ approach to Brexit. They should commit to staying in single market and CU, period.”
Stephen Gethins MP, the SNP’s Europe spokesman, earlier told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “What we’re calling for is for continued membership of the single market and the customs union.
“What the UK seems to want here at the moment is to have its cake and eat it.
“I think what we’re seeing is just how important the single market and customs union are to jobs and to the economy, to everybody in Scotland and across the UK as well. Let’s not forget that these plans haven’t yet gone to Parliament for scrutiny, they’ve snuck them out over the summer recess and they’ve not yet met up with our European negotiators, because don’t forget that once the UK leaves the EU, the UK is not part of the club and they’re not looking out for the UK’s interests, they’re looking out for the EU 27’s interests.”
Ms Sturgeon later said: “You’ve got the UK Government appearing to say that they don’t want to say in ‘the’ customs union, but they want to stay in ‘a’ customs union, which would be pretty much identical to the European customs union that we’re in already. It’s nonsensical and ridiculous. I think it increasingly makes the UK Government look like a bit of a laughing stock. If the UK is leaving the EU then the common sense thing to do is to stay in the single market and to stay in the customs union. Because that will mean we can continue to export goods and services and continue to travel freely like we can today.”
Green MSP Ross Greer said: “The UK Government’s proposal, of a temporary customs union but refusing the authority of the Court of Justice which oversees the union, is contradictory to the point of being embarrassing.”