UK and EU bicker over ‘broken promises’ as trading talks sour
No 10 says it won’t follow the red lines set down by Brussels
THE DEEP rift which the UK faces with the European Union over a future trading deal was laid bare yesterday as both sides accused the other of reneging on promises made when signing the Brexit agreement.
Downing Street accused Brussels of backing away from the terms of the Political Declaration in the negotiating mandate agreed by the 27 EU members.
Meanwhile, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned there could be no “backtracking” by the UK on past commitments.
The tension stemmed from ‘red lines’ put down by the EU yesterday, ahead of the beginning on post-Brexit trade talks in Brussels and London.
The proposals put into writing warnings by Mr Barnier that Britain must sign up to a “level playing field” in any free trade agreement.
The term refers to the measures aimed at preventing either side undercutting the other through lower employment rights, environmental standards or increased state subsidies.
The so-called level playing field stipulation could see Brussels attempt to bounce the UK into following some EU rules and standards after the Brexit transition period ends in 2021.
The key areas the EU wants to ensure a level playing field for are state aid, competition, state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change and relevant tax matters.
Downing Street has previously rejected calls for Britain to stay permanently aligned to Brussels’ employment, environmental and competition laws. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already ruled that out, and his official spokesman said yesterday: “Level playing field is an EU construct, not a piece of terminology which we use.
“We have been very clear on our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations.
“But we will not accept any demands for the UK to follow EU rules, just as we would not expect the EU to accept UK laws.
“We do not agree that an open trading relationship based on an FTA requires extensive level playing field commitments.” Downing Street said it wanted the UK to simply be treated the same as other major economies who have signed trade deals with the EU.
In a series of tweets, the No 10 Press Office said: “The EU has respected the autonomy of other
We will not accept any demands for the UK to follow EU rules.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman on the EU calls for a ‘level playing field’.
major economies around the world such as Canada and Japan when signing trade deals with them.
“We just want the same.”
It also seems the two sides will not come to an agreement on issues such as fishing rights, or being bound by European Court of Justice decisions.
The EU wants to “uphold” its existing reciprocal access conditions, quota shares and the “traditional activity of the Union fleet” to fish in UK waters from the end of the year.
The PM’s spokesman said: “The UK did not vote twice to take back control of its fishing waters only to give that control up again. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t matter what the EU puts in its mandate as we become an independent coastal state on December 31, 2020.
“That means we automatically take back control of our waters and others’ rights to fish in them,” he said.
However, Mr Barnier said a free trade deal with the UK had to include fishing rights “or there won’t be any agreement at all”.
“Let me remind you that most of the British processed fisheries products are traded, are exported, are sent to us, to the European market,” he said. Number 10 also warned earlier this month that it would not accept rulings on legal questions arising from the interpretation of EU law from European courts.
The clash raised fears the threat of a no-deal Brexit would return, with a hard deadline of December 31 this year to get a trade deal signed.
But Mr Barnier said the EU would not agree to a deal with the UK “at any price”.
And he warned that the deadline set by the UK could limit the scope of the agreement.