In a set piece speech Michel Barnier accused the UK of “refusing to speak seriously” with its EU counterparts on thorny issues such as fisheries and again said he was “disappointed by the UK’s lack of ambitions” in the drawn-out negotiations.
His comments do not auger well, neither for the meeting of the EU/UK Joint Committee on Friday with European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Michael Gove, the UK Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, nor the High-Level conference involving Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, due to take place later this month.
Warning of "major obstacles" to be overcome, Barnier's latest broadside comes just a day after UK chief Brexit negotiator David Frost attacked the EU's approach as being “manifestly unbalanced and against the interests of the UK.”
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Barnier, speaking at a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee, laid bare what he says will be the “automatic consequences” of British “cherry picking” and a no-deal Brexit on 31 December.
He told EESC members, “During its 47 years of membership, the UK built up a strong position in the EU market in a number of strategic areas: financial services, business and legal services, and also as a regulation and certification hub and a major entry point in the EU single market.
“In great part, this was made possible by the fact that the UK was an EU Member State, within the single market. As it prepares to leave the single market and customs union, we must ask ourselves whether it is really in the EU interest for the UK to retain such a prominent position?”
“We cannot allow, and we will not allow, this cherry picking. The UK chose to become a third country and it cannot have the best of both worlds. This is simply not in the overall long-term political and economic interest of the EU” Michel Barnier, chief EU Brexit negotiator
He asked, “Do we really want to consolidate the UK’s position as a certification hub for the EU, knowing that it already controls some 15-20 percent of the EU certification market?”
“Do we really want to take a risk with rules of origin that would allow the UK to become a manufacturing hub for the EU, by allowing it to assemble materials and goods sourced all over the world, and export them to the single market as British goods, tariff and quota-free?”
He went on, “Do we really want the UK to remain a centre for commercial litigation for the EU, when we could attract these services here?”
Barnier, who last week completed the fourth round of talks with Frost, his UK counterpart, said that “in many areas” the UK was looking to maintain the benefits of being a Member State, saying “It is looking to “pick and choose” the most attractive elements of the single market – without the obligations.”
As examples of such cherry picking, he cited UK demands to maintain “almost complete freedom of movement” for short-term stays for UK service providers and to maintain a system for the recognition of professional qualifications “that is as complete and broad as the one we have in the EU.”
The UK, he said, also wants to have its customs rules and procedures recognised as equivalent “while refusing to commit” to the necessary compliance checks and monitoring or alignment to EU rules.
Another example of cherry picking was the UK’s wish to be able to co-decide with the EU on decisions about the withdrawal of equivalences for financial services “when they know these are – and must remain – our own, autonomous decisions.”
Barnier insisted, “We cannot allow, and we will not allow, this cherry picking. The UK chose to become a third country and it cannot have the best of both worlds. This is simply not in the overall long-term political and economic interest of the EU.”
He also argued there was no “automatic entitlement” to benefits given by the EU under previous FTAs, adding, “every agreement we have – with Canada, South Korea or Japan – has been tailor-made to the partner with which we negotiated.”
Barnier also said that “however good the agreement we reach with the UK, our trade relationship will never be as fluid as it is today. We need to accept this and prepare for it.”
“The UK has chosen to leave the single market, the customs union, the VAT and excise duty area, and all the EU’s international agreements. This choice will have automatic – mechanical – consequences as of 1 January 2021, even if we reach a good agreement with the UK.”
Barnier, a former MEP, warned, “Businesses in the EU and in the UK must prepare for these changes.”
“Sometimes I hear people in the UK public debate say that the EU has unreasonable positions. But they are only unreasonable for those who refuse to accept that Brexit has negative consequences for the UK” Michel Barnier, chief EU Brexit negotiator
In a wide-ranging speech he also offered detailed examples of what he says will happen on 1 January 2021, whatever the outcome of the negotiation.
UK firms, for example, will lose the benefit of the financial services passports and, as a third country, the UK will no longer be able to grant marketing authorisations for pharmaceuticals or type-approvals for cars for the EU market.
There will also be customs formalities for all goods entering the EU customs territory.
He added, “All these are mechanical consequences of leaving the single market and customs union. No FTA – no matter how ambitious – can change this. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each of us, in particular businesses and public administrations, to prepare.”
He said he wants to “raise awareness on the need to prepare,” saying the Commission “will be stepping up its readiness actions.”
“It has already published a series of “notices” to help and these should be mandatory reading for every industry stakeholder exposed to the UK.”
“We want a very ambitious economic partnership, but it must reflect the long-term economic and political interests of the EU. This is not a dogmatic or technocratic position. We will never compromise on our European values or on our economic and trade interests, to the benefit of the British economy.”
Barnier, who revealed that a total of 400 UK and EU negotiators are involved in the talks, said, “Sometimes I hear people in the UK public debate say that the EU has unreasonable positions. But they are only unreasonable for those who refuse to accept that Brexit has negative consequences for the UK.”
“They are only unreasonable if your starting point is that the EU should not have the sovereign power to define its own conditions for giving generous access to its own market. The EU stance is to protect our interests, to protect our greatest achievement and to limit the economic damage that Brexit inflicts on EU businesses and consumers.”
“During the past negotiation rounds, the UK must have taken note of the EU’s willingness to search for compromises. What we now need to make progress are clear and concrete signals that the UK, too, is open to work on an agreement. There is no need to change or adjust the EU mandate.”
“We can find the necessary compromises, on the condition that the UK changes its approach and accepts a proper balance of rights, benefits, obligations and legally-binding constraints, based on respect for the agreed Political Declaration of last October. That declaration is the only valid starting point for the negotiations.”
The UK, he told the EESC meeting, “must demonstrate that it is making real tangible progress on implementing the Withdrawal Agreement in all its dimensions.”
This relates in particular to citizens’ rights and “correct and effective” implementation of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
He said, “Only a precise and rigorous implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement can create the confidence we need to build our future partnership. Member states made that very clear in the mandate given to the Commission but there are still major hurdles ahead of us.”
Barnier said he hopes that the High-Level Discussions with Boris Johnson that will take place this month “will provide a new political impetus to our talks.”
“I am convinced that we can overcome the difficulties.”