Brexit deal: EU’s Michel Barnier warns UK not to back down

The Financial Times, citing three people familiar with the plans, reported that sections of a market bill due to be published on Wednesday are expected to “remove the legal force from parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas that include state aid. and Northern Ireland customs.

The report has stoked tensions between London and Brussels as post-Brexit trade talks enter their eighth round this week. “The withdrawal agreement has been signed and ratified by the UK and the EU, it is in force,” an EU diplomat told CNN, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If the UK chooses not to respect it, then in theory the EU would have to take legal action,” the diplomat added.

The UK government did not question the FT story, although George Eustice, the UK environment secretary, suggested in an interview on Sky News that the story may have “exaggerated things”. He added that the “Northern Ireland protocol is agreed” and “is part of the withdrawal agreement.”

A government spokesperson described the proposed legislation as an alternative position. The spokesperson said: “We are working hard to resolve outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol through the Joint Committee and will continue to address these discussions in good faith. As a responsible government, we are considering alternative options should this not be achieved. to ensure the protection of the communities of Northern Ireland. “

Two Downing Street sources familiar with the government’s Brexit plans told CNN they did not acknowledge much of the FT report. However, the news came on the same day that Johnson warned that if a deal between London and Brussels is not finalized by October 15, when EU leaders will meet to discuss Brexit, the UK will withdraw from the conversations “There is no point in thinking of timelines beyond that point,” Johnson said in a statement. “If we can’t agree by then, then I don’t see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept it and move on.”

There have been signs of tension in the trading process in recent weeks. Brussels fears that the UK is trying to reach an agreement on terms that mean that it will not honor the commitments it made to the EU in the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK believes that Brussels is making demands on state aid and fisheries that go far beyond those agreed last year and that the EU refuses to accept that the UK is now an independent country.

In that context, it is not surprising that the EU opposes any suggestion that the UK is planning to undermine the 2019 withdrawal deal. “It is interesting that the leak appeared in the Financial Times, which has an international audience,” said the EU diplomat.

While Downing Street’s hardliner rhetoric might worry officials in Brussels, some in London believe Johnson is preparing the ground for a major concession this fall in order to secure a Brexit deal. Several hardliners Brexiters told CNN last week that the best way to overcome the current stalemate would be to repudiate parts of the withdrawal agreement.

Whatever the UK government’s true intentions, recent events have put nerves on edge in Brussels as the Brexit saga moves into its final chapter.