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The UK’s top negotiator has said the 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.
David Frost is scheduled to hold another round of key negotiations in London with his counterpart Michel Barnier, the EU’s top negotiator, next week as they hope to reach a trade deal before autumn arrives.
In an upbeat interview with the Mail on Sunday (MoS), the Prime Minister’s Sherpa of Europe said the UK was preparing to leave the transitional period “whatever happens”, even if it meant leaving without a deal, what officials have called “Australian”. arrangement “style”.
Informal talks this week between Barnier and Lord Frost failed to find a breakthrough before the eighth round of formal negotiations, which begin Monday.
Both sides want an agreement to be reached next month so that politicians on both sides of the English Channel will sign it before the transition period ends on December 31.
Differences remain between the couple on issues such as fishing and the level of taxpayer support that the UK will be able to provide to businesses once it is an independent nation.
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 an 11-hour concession on 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 what we say is serious and that they must take our position seriously.”
The former diplomat, who will soon add a national security adviser to his portfolio, continued: “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 control of the country’s money and affairs “should not be controversial.”
“That’s what being an independent country is all about, that’s what the British people voted for and that’s what will happen at the end of the year, whatever happens,” Frost added.
The MoS reported that Downing Street has created a transition center, with carefully selected officials across 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 government’s work on no-deal preparations since last year.
“Obviously a lot of preparation was done last year, we are improving again and have been under Michael Gove for some time,” said Frost.
“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 reach an agreement that regulates trade like Canada’s, great. If we can’t, it will be a similar trade deal to Australia and we are fully prepared for that. “
His comments came as the EU sought to dismiss a report in the Telegraph that Barnier would be “sidelined” before talks ended so that European leaders could reach an agreement before the deadline.
But the bloc’s spokesman, Sebastian Fischer, tweeted on Saturday: “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 EU 27. He has a proven track record of leading successful Brexit negotiations on behalf of the EU.”
