EU’s Barnier says a Brexit deal ‘realistic’
IT IS “realistic” to believe a Brexit deal can be agreed between the UK and EU within the next six to eight weeks, Michel Barnier has said.
The EU’s chief negotiator told the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia yesterday it was “possible” that a deal could be agreed by the start of November.
He said: “If we are realistic, I want to reach an agreement on the first stage of the negotiation, which is the Brexit treaty, within six or eight weeks.
“The treaty is clear, we have two years to reach an agreement before they leave... in March 2019.
“That means that taking into account the time necessary for the ratification process in the House of Commons on one side, the European Parliament and the Council on the other side, we must reach an agreement before the beginning of November. I think it is possible.”
Responding to Mr Barnier’s comments, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have said ourselves that we are focused on securing a deal in October and that continues to be what we are working towards.”
Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said: “It doesn’t seem to me that he is saying anything particularly new because of course it’s possible to get a deal but the problem is he does go on to say that the two proposals that are at the heart of the Chequers White Paper, namely the facilitated customs arrangement and the common rule book, they are both contrary to the founding principles of the European Union. “
Mr Kinnock said he could not see how there would be a “shift in people’s views on what the founding principles of the European Union are between now and October or November”.
He added: “What I think we’ve seen is a pattern from Monsieur Barnier where he does go in quite hard and then he rows back a bit and then he goes in quite hard again... Fundamentally, there has to be a deal by November at the absolute latest because otherwise there is no way that we can give
it scrutiny in Parliament and then it go to the European Parliament in time for the March departure.”
Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Stephen Doughty said: “The fundamental question is not whether a deal is reached. It’s whether it’s a deal that puts jobs and business at risk, fails to protect our NHS and threatens further austerity.
“But in any case, it’s clear that the Chequers deal is dead and we are heading for chaos and the possibility of a catastrophic no deal. That is why a majority across Wales and in the Labour party are getting behind the campaign for a People’s Vote.”
Plaid Cymru Brexit spokesman and Arfon MP Hywel Williams said: “The EU has never been the barrier to a deal. It is the Westminster Government, helped on by Jeremy Corbyn, that triggered Article 50 without any idea of what they wanted.
“Fantasy politics, impossible asks, arrogant exceptionalism and internal squabbles in the Tory Government have left us with a possible deal having to be negotiated in a matter of weeks.
“A late deal, with the detail negotiated when we are outside of Europe, risks putting us in a position of weakness. Thanks to two years of squabbling and failure, we are now left with a Westminster Government arguing for a Brexit option that pleases none of the people all of the time.
“And still Mrs May is unable to guarantee that whatever compromise she has cooked up with her Tory friends would pass muster in the House of Commons. Membership of the European Single Market and Customs Union is crucial to the success of the Welsh economy.
“Labour and the Tories continue to ignore this fact – when it comes to Brexit, they are both as bad as each other. So even if we do get a deal, irreparable damage will be done, costing Welsh jobs and wages. It is only Plaid Cymru that is advocating solutions that will work for Wales.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street has defended Theresa May’s Brexit blueprint after a warning that continuing with it could cause a “catastrophic split” in the Conservative Party.
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker said he was “gravely concerned” about a potential schism in Tory ranks if the Prime Minister did not change direction.
Mr Baker, a leading figure in the pro-Brexit Tory European Research Group, said the party’s annual conference in Birmingham, starting on September 30, could prove a decisive moment as Mrs May is forced to acknowledge the scale of grassroots opposition to her proposals.
“If we come out of conference with her hoping to get Chequers through on the back of Labour votes, I think the EU negotiators would probably understand that if that were done, the Tory party would suffer the catastrophic split which thus far we have managed to avoid,” he told the Press Association.
Number 10 said critics of the plan had yet to come forward with a credible alternative which would avoid the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
“Chequers is the only plan on the table which will deliver on the will of the British people while avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“The Prime Minister is working hard to secure a deal and hopes all MPs will be able to support it.”
Justice Secretary David Gauke said “an overwhelming majority within the Conservative Party” backed the Government’s approach, telling the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “There isn’t an alternative credible plan out there.”
Number 10 said Mrs May would be chairing a special meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday to discuss the preparations for a no-deal Brexit if Britain fails to secure an agreement with Brussels.
It is expected to coincide with the publication of the latest tranche of technical papers on the no-deal preparations across a range of sectors.
Mr Baker’s intervention came amid continuing anger over Boris Johnson’s claim that the Chequers plan, which would see Britain maintain a “common rule book” with the EU for trade in goods and agriculture, was tantamount to wrapping a “suicide vest” around the British constitution.
After his comments in a Sunday newspaper article were widely condemned by ministers, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is not language the Prime Minister would choose to use. Beyond that I don’t propose to give this article any further oxygen.”
No 10 was forced to deny any involvement in a reported dossier detailing the former foreign secretary’s private indiscretions, with her spokesman saying the claim was “categorically untrue and offensive”.
The claims came amid weekend newspaper reports linking Mr Johnson – who is still thought to harbour leadership ambitions – with ex-Tory communications director Carrie Symonds after it was announced he and his wife are to divorce.
The Sunday Times said the dossier was originally drawn up by an aide to Mrs May at the time of the 2016 Tory leadership contest but was not used after Mr Johnson dropped out.