ANGER AS EU DRAGS FEET OVER TRADE TALKS
Brussels puts off Brexit negotiations until March
THE EU has provoked fresh anger after plotting to delay post-Brexit trade talks until March.
Eurocrats warned it could “take some time” until they are prepared, despite the UK being ready to begin thrashing out a deal immediately.
The setback is likely to frustrate Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said Britain wants trade talks to start the morning after Brexit and be finalised by the end of the year.
The news comes as projections show the UK economy is set to outpace the eurozone in the first two years after we leave,
suggesting the bloc would be wise to cut a deal quickly.
European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said: “The commission can adopt its proposal for the negotiation directives only once the UK has actually withdrawn from the EU.
“This we know will take some time, which is why we have said we will start negotiations as quickly as we can, but it will certainly not be before the end of February, beginning of March.”
Mr Mamer claimed the move was not a deliberate attempt to delay Brexit.
He added: “This is not a slowing down or speeding up of the process.
“This is simply the nature of the institutional process and the consultations that need to take place before the negotiation directives can be formally adopted.”
Tory MPs were not impressed by the stalling tactics from Brussels.
Threaten
Brexiteer Peter Bone blasted the bloc for dragging its heels. He said: “I am totally mystified by the EU and I still think there are some people over there who still think we are not leaving on January 31.
“They have known for some time that we are leaving so it is laughable that they do not yet have any plan – except to delay.
“Boris Johnson has made it clear that if negotiations are not completed by the end of the year then we will leave onWTO terms.”
Fellow Tory MP Michael Fabricant said: “I don’t know whether this delay is a reflection of the famed inefficiency of the EU – or just their bureaucracy. But this will not please France, Germany or Holland, whose economies are dependent on the huge UK market for their exports.”
Tory MP Philip Davies added: “The EU have always prioritised political game-playing over the economic well-being of their members and this is a prime example.” The remarks threaten to open the growing rift between Britain and the EU over a future trading relationship.
Earlier this month, new European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said it would be “impossible” to reach a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020, calling Mr Johnson’s deadline “very tight”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Britain is ready to begin trade negotiations with the EU immediately.
He said: “We are clear what we want to achieve. The EU is obviously going through a process of deciding what its position will be going into these discussions.We are ready to start negotiating from February 1.”
Britain will leave the EU at 11pm on January 31, with a host of parties planned across the country.
We will then enter into a standstill transition period which will come to an end in December.
During that period, the UK and EU will try to hammer out the terms of their future relationship.
The PM will also soon unveil his blueprint for Britain’s trade deal with the US and its trading relationship with the rest of the world. Officials would not be drawn on a timetable for UK-US negotiations, but the two sides have made “extensive preparations” ahead of the forthcoming talks.
The UK was handed a boost yesterday as new International Monetary Fund projections showed our economy is expected to outpace the eurozone in the first two
years after Brexit. The IMF suggested the euro area would see economic growth of 1.3 per cent in 2020 and 1.4 per cent in 2021.
But it forecast that the UK economy could see growth of 1.4 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent next year.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson suffered his first parliamentary defeats since the General Election last night when peers backed a proposed new clause to his EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
The House of Lords voted in favour of a cross-party amendment to the flagship legislation promising EU citizens already settled in the UK physical proof of their right to remain in the country.
Peers voted by 270 to 229, a majority of 41, in favour of the new amendments.
Liberal Democrat Lord Oates said EU citizens covered by the settled status scheme should have the right to a physical form of proof of status, instead of only the digital proof currently proposed by the Government.
The Government suffered a second defeat in the Lords over the power of British courts to depart from European Court of Justice judgments.