Influential EU states such as Germany, France and
Spain will block any attempt by the UK to remain
within the single market for goods without freedom
of movement, the Spanish foreign minister has said.
Josep Borrell said that some smaller EU states might privately
be willing to negotiate reform of the bloc’s free movement
rules in order to keep easy access to UK products.
But he told The Guardian: “They will not win the battle. They
have not enough power. Germany will say no, France will say
no, Spain will say no.”
Mr Borrell said that Berlin and Paris were “angry” with Britain
over Brexit, which he described as a “pain in the ass” which
was distracting energy from issues such as immigration and
eurozone reform.
This week’s summit of the European Council will focus on
migration, security and the economy on Thursday, though
leaders of the remaining 27 EU countries will discuss Brexit in
Theresa May’s absence
(When we should be discussing eurozone
and immigration, we are discussing what
to do with someone who wants to leave
Josep Borrell, Spanish foreign minister)
Asked how he would characterise the progress of Brexit talks
since the last summit in March, European Union spokesman
Margaritis Schinas told a Brussels press conference: “Average,
with a potential of improvement.”
The comment came as Mrs May celebrated Royal Assent for
her flagship EU Withdrawal Bill, telling Cabinet it was “a major
building block for the UK’s bright future outside the EU”.
Reports suggest that plans for a future trading relationship
expected to be outlined by the Prime Minister in next month’s
Brexit white paper could include proposals for regulatory
alignment on goods, to preserve continental markets for UK
producers without tying Britain to accepting foreign workers.
The expected move comes as major companies including
BMW and Airbus warn of the risk of activities being
transferred to the EU if Britain leaves the customs union in a
“hard Brexit”.
And London Mayor Sadiq Khan told MPs that major job losses
can be expected in the capital if the Government allows
service industries to “fall off a cliff edge” after Brexit.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the EU’s General Affairs
Council in Luxembourg, Mr Borrell told The Guardian: “There
are many European countries who would support the (UK)
idea. Because they are against free movement of people. But
not the big, powerful ones.
Spain will block any attempt by the UK to remain
within the single market for goods without freedom
of movement, the Spanish foreign minister has said.
Josep Borrell said that some smaller EU states might privately
be willing to negotiate reform of the bloc’s free movement
rules in order to keep easy access to UK products.
But he told The Guardian: “They will not win the battle. They
have not enough power. Germany will say no, France will say
no, Spain will say no.”
Mr Borrell said that Berlin and Paris were “angry” with Britain
over Brexit, which he described as a “pain in the ass” which
was distracting energy from issues such as immigration and
eurozone reform.
This week’s summit of the European Council will focus on
migration, security and the economy on Thursday, though
leaders of the remaining 27 EU countries will discuss Brexit in
Theresa May’s absence
(When we should be discussing eurozone
and immigration, we are discussing what
to do with someone who wants to leave
Josep Borrell, Spanish foreign minister)
Asked how he would characterise the progress of Brexit talks
since the last summit in March, European Union spokesman
Margaritis Schinas told a Brussels press conference: “Average,
with a potential of improvement.”
The comment came as Mrs May celebrated Royal Assent for
her flagship EU Withdrawal Bill, telling Cabinet it was “a major
building block for the UK’s bright future outside the EU”.
Reports suggest that plans for a future trading relationship
expected to be outlined by the Prime Minister in next month’s
Brexit white paper could include proposals for regulatory
alignment on goods, to preserve continental markets for UK
producers without tying Britain to accepting foreign workers.
The expected move comes as major companies including
BMW and Airbus warn of the risk of activities being
transferred to the EU if Britain leaves the customs union in a
“hard Brexit”.
And London Mayor Sadiq Khan told MPs that major job losses
can be expected in the capital if the Government allows
service industries to “fall off a cliff edge” after Brexit.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the EU’s General Affairs
Council in Luxembourg, Mr Borrell told The Guardian: “There
are many European countries who would support the (UK)
idea. Because they are against free movement of people. But
not the big, powerful ones.
“Spain will not accept. I don’t think France or Germany will
accept that.
“They are quite angry with the United Kingdom. Because of all
this mess, all the trouble created, all this time lost on
negotiations. When we should be discussing eurozone and
immigration, we are discussing what to do with someone who
wants to leave. It is really a very bad allocation of intelligence,
resources and money.”
Mr Borrell dismissed the idea of a hard border in Ireland as
“impossible” and said the UK Government’s “maximum
facilitation” proposal to use technology to avoid the need for
customs checks would not work, leaving only the options of
keeping Northern Ireland or the whole of the UK in the
customs union.
Speaking to the House of Commons Public Administration
and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Mr Khan said Mrs May
had her “priorities all wrong” in Brexit negotiations and should
give greater emphasis to sectors such as financial services,
accountancy and the legal profession.
City of London warnings of 10,000 job losses in a cliff-edge
Brexit were “a conservative estimate”, he told the cross-party
committee.
“I welcome the Government announcing there should be a
backstop agreement in relation to frictionless trade for
goods,” he told MPs. “It needs to extend though to frictionless
trade for services as well.
“We can’t afford that situation where after (a) transition period
we fall off a cliff edge in relation to trades in services.”
Around 92% of London’s economy is made up of the service
sector, the same as Manchester, while it accounts for 91% in
Edinburgh, 83% in Leeds and 82% in Birmingham.
Mr Khan said: “We are already seeing major banks establishing
subsidiaries in other EU countries, or moving part of their
business out of the capital because EU law requires them to
be legally compliant from the day the UK leaves the European
Union.
Sadiq Khan says the PM has her priorities wrong on Brexit
“If the Government does not change its approach and strike a
deal that secures access to the single market for services, this
trend will only continue.
“The result will be fewer jobs, less investment and less
prosperity the length and breadth of the country.”
Mr Khan’s message was echoed by the chairman of the
European Services Forum Noel Clehane, who said: “The
business community requires legal certainty as early as
possible.
“We therefore call on the negotiators to take all necessary
steps to minimise business disruption, to provide clarity as
soon as possible on the withdrawal agreement, and to allow
some flexibility in the management and duration of the
transition period.”
Mr Khan’s intervention came as the Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called for the
Government to end uncertainty over Brexit as it
said investment in the British motor industry has fallen by
nearly a half in a year.
The SMMT said £347 million of investment was earmarked for
new models and facilities in the UK in the first half of this
year, compared with £647.4 million in the same period in
2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment