Boris sets red lines on Brexit
No new EU rules for Britain after 2019, says Foreign Secretary as Cabinet divisions on transition are laid bare
BORIS JOHNSON demanded a series of Brexit assurances last night as the fragile Cabinet truce over Theresa May’s transition plan began to fracture.
The Foreign Secretary wants Britain not to adopt any new EU rules and regulations after it formally leaves in March 2019, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
He believes it is wrong for rulings from Brussels to apply in the UK during the two-year transition because Britain will no longer be involved in the deci- sion-making process. The stance goes further than the Prime Minister – who declined to make the promise on Friday – and puts him on a collision course with the Treasury, which wants a “status quo” transition.
Mr Johnson also wants Britain to be able to sign trade deals during the transition period and opposes paying billions of pounds for access to the single market after 2021.
There are fears that Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is still pursuing a longer transition, with Mr Johnson insisting two years is an absolute limit. A Cabinet source said: “Boris will be one of those Cabinet ministers pushing to make sure we don’t have any new EU rules and regulations during the transition.” The cracks emerged as: Emmanuel Macron, the French president, demanded more progress on what Britain will pay before discussing trade, putting pressure on Mrs May;
Britain’s credit rating score was downgraded by Moody’s, which cited uncertainty over Brexit as a factor;
European sources said the UK was now expected to settle a “Brexit bill” of up to €50billion – more than double what British government figures admit;
David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, promised that the European Court of Justice would not have any “supremacy” over British judges.
The Prime Minister used a speech in Florence on Friday to effectively delay the completion of Brexit until 2021. Mrs May’s intervention – signed off by her Cabinet – was welcomed by many Tory MPs, who see a Brexit “implementation” phase as sensible.
However, concerns are emerging about the specifics of how the transition, which will be limited to “around two years”, will work.
During the period, EU migrants will still be able to move to the UK – provid- ing they register – and Britain will continue paying into the bloc’s budget. In return, Britain hopes to retain the benefits of the single market as it transitions from formally leaving the EU in March 2019 to cutting all ties in March 2021.
Mr Johnson publicly backed Mrs May’s plan and has accepted the need for free movement and EU payments to continue during the period. However, this newspaper has learnt that he has
major concerns over whether the UK should implement EU rules and regulations during the transition.
Mrs May said the “existing structure of EU rules and regulations” would be followed during the two years but made no mention of new rules passed during that time. When challenged, she declined to rule out them being adopted.
Mr Johnson is understood to be uncomfortable with Britain still being bound by EU decisions in 2019, when it will no longer have MEPs or a European Council. One ally of Mr Johnson said: “There should not be any new regulations during that period. We should uphold those we have already but not take any more.”
His stance drew criticism from other figures around the Cabinet table, who want to keep options open for the talks.
A Cabinet source said: “We are in the process of an unprecedented negotiation. Being too black and white is not good.”
Mr Johnson also has wider concerns, fearing that some ministers still want Mrs May’s stated transition period of “around two years” to be extended. Claims that the Chancellor wanted a five-year transition were firmly rejected by his allies last night.
The Foreign Secretary wants Britain to be able to sign free trade deals as well as negotiate them during the transition – something Mrs May indicated support for on Friday.
Failure to do so could undermine the hopes of a deal with the United States, given that Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of Brexit, could no longer be US president in 2021.
Other Tory Eurosceptics have been more critical than Mr Johnson, questioning whether a transition is needed at all and why EU citizens can still move to Britain during the period.
Mr Davis moved to calm Tory nerves in a recorded interview with BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, to be broadcast today.
He said that the UK’s rules and regulations “will diverge” eventually from those of the EU, but gave no timescale.
Mr Davis also said: “We are not under any circumstances going to be accepting the overarching supremacy of the European Court. That’s going.”
‘There should not be any new regulations during that period. We should uphold those we have already but not take any more’