London and Dublin at loggerheads over Brexit trade talks agreement
Davis attempts to calm fears of hardline Leavers
LONDON AND Dublin clashed last night over whether the Brexit agreement intended to trigger trade talks is legally binding.
The dispute was sparked yesterday when Brexit Secretary David Davis insisted it was much more a statement of intent than “legally enforceable”. The Irish government responded strongly, stating the deal was “binding” and it would hold the UK “to account” on it.
The document on legacy issues like the Irish border was hammered out in order to allow the remaining EU27 states to approve Brexit talks shifting to a phasetwo trade negotiation at a summit this week, where Dublin wields a veto.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar heralded the last-minute deal meant to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic as “politically bullet-proof”. The Irish government’s chief whip, Joe McHugh, branded the Brexit Secretary’s comments as “bizarre”. He said: “We will as a government, a sovereign government in Ireland, be holding the United Kingdom to account, as will the European Union. My question to anybody within the British Government would be why would there be an agreement, a set of principled agreements, in order to get to phase two, if they weren’t going to be held up? That just sounds bizarre to me.”
THE CHANCES of Britain leaving the EU without a trade deal have “dropped dramatically”, Brexit Secretary David Davis has said.
The Cabinet heavyweight insisted the agreement – secured with Brussels to trigger talks on a post-Brexit relationship – made the prospect of the UK being forced back into World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariff arrangements after withdrawal much less likely.
The Brexit Secretary said: “The odds, as it were, against a WTO, or no-deal outcome, have dropped dramatically.”
Mr Davis also insisted Britain would not pay a £39bn exit bill to Brussels unless there was a trade deal. The comments appeared to contradict those of Chancellor Philip Hammond who has said it would be “inconceivable” the UK would fail to honour its international obligations.
The Haltemprice and Howden MP also moved to calm fears of hardline Leavers who were alarmed by a section of the agreement with Brussels which said Britain would have “full alignment” with the EU on regulations and standards that impacted on Northern Ireland.
Mr Davis insisted the phrase had been changed from “nondivergence” which would have meant “cutting and pasting” rules from Brussels. The Brexit Secretary said full alignment meant reaching similar outcomes, stating: “We want to protect the peace process and we also want to protect Ireland from the impact of Brexit for them.
“This was a statement of intent more than anything else. Much more a statement of intent than it was a legally enforceable thing.”
The comments came after reports that some hardline Brexiteers had been assured by the Government that the term “full alignment” was “meaningless”.
Mr Davis’s stance is likely to raise eyebrows in Dublin after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described Britain’s commitments to ensure no return to a hard border as “politically bullet-proof” and “cast iron”.
The Brexit Secretary insisted the UK would keep a “frictionless” border with the Irish Republic even if there was no trade deal.
Pressed on the Chancellor’s remarks regarding the exit payment, Mr Davis said: “No. It is conditional on an outcome. I am afraid that wasn’t quite right.
“It is conditional. It is conditional on getting an implementation period. Conditional on a trade outcome.
“No deal means that we won’t be paying the money.”
When asked at a Commons Treasury Committee meeting last week whether Britain’s divorce bill was contingent on a trade deal, the Chancellor said: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed in this negotiation.
“But I find it inconceivable that we as a nation would be walking away from an obligation that we recognised as an obligation.
“That is not a credible scenario. That is not the kind of country we are.
“Frankly, it would not make us a credible partner for future international agreements.”
The Brexit Secretary said that a trade deal was “not that complicated”, and suggested a version of the agreement the EU made with Canada, which he dubbed “Canada plus, plus, plus” because it would include areas such as financial services.
Reacting to Mr Davis’ suggestion that the Brexit agreement was a statement of intent rather than legally binding, Joe McHugh, the Irish Government chief whip, said: “The European Union will be holding the United Kingdom to account.”
He said: “We will as a government, a sovereign government in Ireland, be holding the United Kingdom to account, as will the European Union.
“My question to anybody within the British Government would be, why would there be an agreement, a set of principled agreements, in order to get to phase two, if they weren’t going to be held up? That just sounds bizarre to me.”
Mr McHugh said the agreement is binding as far as Ireland is concerned.
No deal means that we won’t be paying the money. Brexit Secretary and Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis.