UK is not ‘scared’ to leave the EU without a trade deal

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The UK’s top Brexit negotiator has said that the UK government is “not afraid” to walk away from talks with the European Union without a deal and vowed not to blink in the final phase.

Lord (David) Frost and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier are scheduled to hold another round of key negotiations, in London, next week, as they hope to reach a trade deal before autumn arrives.

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Frost said the UK was preparing to leave the transition period “whatever happens”, even if it meant leaving without a deal, what officials have called a so-called deal ” Australian style “. .

Informal talks this week between the two men failed to make a breakthrough before the eighth round of formal negotiations, which begin Monday.

Both sides want a deal agreed next month for Brussels and London to sign before the transition period ends on December 31.

Differences remain between the two sides on issues such as fisheries and the level of taxpayer support that the UK will be able to provide to businesses.

Lord Frost told the newspaper that the UK would not agree to be an EU “client state” and said Theresa May’s administration had allowed Brussels to believe that there could be a last minute concession to a trade deal.

He said: “We came after a government and a negotiating team that had blinked and been called upon to deceive at critical moments and the EU had learned not to take our word seriously.

“So a lot of what we are trying to do this year is make them realize that we mean it and that they must take our position seriously.

“We are not going to be a client state. We are not going to compromise the fundamentals of having control over our own laws.”

He ruled out accepting a level playing field that “lock us up in the way the EU does things” and argued that wanting to control the country’s money and affairs “should not be controversial.

“That is what being an independent country is all about, that is what the British people voted for and that is what will happen at the end of the year, whatever happens.”

The Mail on Sunday reported that Downing Street has created a transition center, with carefully selected officials in all government departments working to ensure that the UK is ready to trade without a deal when the transition period ends on January 1, 2021.

The unit will work with Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, who has led the British government’s work on no-deal preparations since last year.

Lord Frost said: “Obviously a lot of preparation was done last year, we are increasing again and we have been under the authority of Michael Gove for some time.”

“I don’t think we are scared at all. We want to regain the powers to control our borders and that is the most important thing.

“If we can come to an agreement that regulates trade like Canada’s, great. If we can’t, it will be an Australian-style trade agreement and we are fully prepared for that.”

His comments came as the EU tried to dismiss a report in Britain’s Telegraph newspaper that Barnier would be “sidelined” before the talks ended so that European leaders could reach an agreement before the deadline.

But EU spokesman Sebastian Fischer tweeted: “Whoever wants to engage with the EU on Brexit must engage with Michel Barnier.

“He is the EU’s main Brexit negotiator and enjoys the full trust, support and confidence of the 27 in the EU.

“He has a proven track record of successful leadership in Brexit negotiations on behalf of the EU.”



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