Brexit bad
blood is back
Goodwill
over the UK’s departure lasted less than a weekend.
The sheen
of cordiality between the U.K. and EU has worn off as the Brexit transition
period kicks off
By CHARLIE
COOPER 2/5/20, 5:18 PM CET Updated 2/5/20, 5:20 PM CET
LONDON —
Less than a week after the U.K. left the European Union late Friday night, the
mood has already soured — with British and EU officials trading cross-Channel
barbs over a possible trade deal and the future of the U.K.
Brexit
night on Friday, January 31, marked the end of a remorseful but relatively
friendly period of farewell and triggered a new, much more belligerent tone
from both London and Brussels.
Before the
weekend was out, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused the EU of “trying
to shift the goalposts” ahead of trade talks and Irish Prime Minister Leo
Varadkar called U.K. plans for its diplomats to sit apart from EU counterparts
in international forums “a little bit petty.”
If that
wasn’t enough, recently departed European Council President Donald Tusk told a
television interviewer that Brussels would be “enthusiastic” about an
independent Scotland one day joining the EU. Never mind that this would mean
the dismemberment of the U.K. It prompted Raab (again) to accuse Tusk of being “irresponsible.”
To some
extent a change of tone was inevitable. Since the Brexit deal was struck in
October, London and Brussels have had a common goal: ratifying the deal and
guaranteeing the U.K.’s orderly departure.
The current
tit-for-tat is really a battle to set the parameters of the trade talks to
come.
On February
1, that shared endeavor ceded into the past, to be replaced by a new dynamic.
The U.K. is now a third country, on the opposite side of a negotiating table
where it and the EU will both ruthlessly pursue their own self-interest.
The current
tit-for-tat is really a battle to set the parameters of the trade talks to
come. The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said that the U.K.
aligning with EU regulations — the so-called level playing field provisions
that would prevent it undercutting the EU on environmental, workers’ rights and
other standards — is a condition for achieving an “ambitious” trade agreement
covering goods and services.
Boris
Johnson, in a speech on Monday, chimed with Raab; the Canada-style free trade
agreement they seek does not require full alignment with EU rules, he insisted,
and questioned why, if it did, the U.K. should not demand the same of the EU.
“I hope our friends will understand that what is sauce for the goose is sauce
for the gander,” he said.
The
prospect of the two sides failing to find common ground has prompted London to
come up with a new euphemism: If they don’t get Canada, they’d be happy with an
“Australia-style” Brexit. Cue more diplomatic barbs from EU trade chief Phil
Hogan, who pointed out the obvious: “We do not have an agreement with
Australia,” he said. “I think that’s
code for no deal.”
In truth,
it was to be expected that both sides would start negotiations with a
relatively hard line. But time is very short if a trade deal is to be in place
in time for Johnson’s self-imposed end-of-year deadline. There is little time
to waste on saber-rattling, said former European Commissioner for Trade Peter
Mandelson, who advised Johnson on BBC Radio 4, “Be calm, it’s a long journey,
take it step by step, sector by sector and dial down the rhetoric, the
megaphone diplomacy.”
In the
yah-boo world of Brexit, that’s a plea that may fall on deaf ears.
5 potential
clashes in the next phase of Brexit talks
Michel
Barnier and Boris Johnson set out their negotiating stances ahead of the future
relationship talks.
By EMILIO
CASALICCHIO, BARBARA MOENS AND HANS VON DER BURCHARD 2/3/20, 9:57 PM CET
Updated 2/5/20, 12:06 AM CET
LONDON —
The EU and the U.K. on Monday set out their priorities for the post-Brexit
future relationship talks — buckle up for a bumpy ride.
The EU is
willing to negotiate a highly ambitious trade deal, the bloc's chief negotiator
Michel Barnier said in Brussels, but "this exceptional offer is
conditional." Those conditions are not to the liking of Boris Johnson
though, who used a speech in London to set out his own Brexit negotiating
stance.
Here are
five potential clashes in the upcoming talks.
1. Playing
by the rules
The central
area of dispute is around so-called level playing field rules. The EU is
worried the U.K. might lower labor and environmental standards and boost state
aid to its companies, effectively becoming a competitor with an unfair advantage.
Barnier
said it is up to the U.K. to answer the “fundamental” question of the future
relationship: “Will it continue to adhere to the EU’s social and regulatory
model?” According to Barnier, the U.K.'s answer "will be fundamental to
the level of ambition of our future relationship.”
"The
Government will not agree to measures in these areas which go beyond those
typically included in a comprehensive free-trade agreement." — Boris
Johnson
But Johnson
said in his speech on Monday that "there is no need for a free-trade
agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies,
social protection, the environment, or anything similar, any more than the EU
should be obliged to accept U.K. rules."
He said the
U.K. would maintain or even improve upon EU standards, but insisted that
signing up to a treaty that mandated such alignment or copying EU laws was not
an option.
However, a
spokesman for the prime minister later indicated how the issue could be
resolved. He suggested that level playing field safeguards could be included in
the trade deal, as is the case in the bloc's trade deal with Canada, but that
the U.K. would go no further. In a statement setting out the U.K. negotiating
position, Johnson said, "The Government will not agree to measures in
these areas which go beyond those typically included in a comprehensive
free-trade agreement."
2. Troubled
water
Europe's fishing
sector is making a big splash in Brexit negotiations. Barnier said the EU
wanted "continued, reciprocal access to markets and to waters with stable
quota shares." The EU's draft negotiating mandate clearly links this to
the overall free-trade agreement.
Johnson has
long insisted Britain must become an independent coastal state. In his speech
on Monday he said the government was "ready to consider an agreement on
fisheries," but added, "Under such an agreement, there would be
annual negotiations with the EU, using the latest scientific data, ensuring
that British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats."
The British
negotiating mandate notes that, just like Norway, Iceland and the Faroe
Islands, it wants yearly talks about how much fish can be taken out of the
water and where.
3. Final
say
Governance
looks set to be another point of contention. Barnier said the Court of Justice
of the European Union (CJEU) must be able to "continue its role in
full" over areas of the future relationship that are "based on
concepts derived from European law," as well as in matters of security.
But Johnson
in his written statement said a deal with the EU cannot include "any
jurisdiction for the CJEU over the U.K.’s laws." It is unclear at the
moment exactly what that means. According to the Political Declaration — the
text on the future relationship that accompanied the legally binding Withdrawal
Agreement — the CJEU would be able to rule on legal interpretations of EU law.
But Barnier suggested its reach could go deeper than that. He specifically
mentioned a role for the CJEU in the security aspect of any deal, which could
be a flashpoint in the talks on a topic that the two sides otherwise broadly
agree on.
4.
Gibraltar's future
A further
row looks set to take place over the status of Gibraltar. Barnier said that the
territory will not be included in the negotiations, and that Spain would have
to give the green light to any deal that covered the island. "The kingdom
of Spain will have to be involved and give its agreement to a specific
agreement on Gibraltar," he said.
Johnson
insists he does not want an extension beyond December 31. Barnier said on
Monday that the timing is “Johnson’s choice.”
But Johnson
said that the U.K. "will be negotiating on behalf of the entire U.K.
family," including Gibraltar.
5. Time
limit
The EU has
repeatedly warned the U.K. that the time left until the end of the transition
period is not long enough to reach a comprehensive deal. However, Johnson
insists he does not want an extension beyond December 31. Barnier said on
Monday that the timing is “Johnson’s choice.” Expect more discussion on a
potential extension throughout the first half of the year.
The EU also
has its own timing issue. A timeline presented to reporters on Monday says the
EU aims to wrap up negotiations by the mid-October European Council summit —
and Brussels is optimistic that the two-and-a-half months between then and the
end of the year will be sufficient to ratify the future agreement, without
having to involve national parliaments.
But that’s
walking on thin ice. If not all parts of the deal are of exclusive EU
competence, then member countries could demand that their national parliaments
must have a say, potentially scuppering any deal.
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