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Britain’s top Brexit negotiator has said Europe should “take our position seriously” before a new round of crucial trade talks.
David frost, who will lead the UK’s post-Brexit trade talks and serve as the prime minister’s national security adviser, will meet with the EU’s chief negotiator. Michel barnier in London next week.
The UK “will not blink first” when the eighth round of talks begins on Tuesday, he told the Mail on Sunday.
And he contrasted the enthusiastic attitude of Boris Johnson with that of his predecessor Theresa May, who failed to reach an agreement with Europe.
Lord Frost said: “We came after a government and a negotiating team that had blinked and been called to cheat at critical moments, and the EU had learned not to take us seriously,” he told the newspaper.
“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.”
Barnier will land in the UK just hours after Lord Frost takes a seat given to him by Johnson.
His arrival comes as the two parties still cannot agree on big issues like fishing rights and government subsidies for companies.
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Lord Frost, 55, a former diplomat and once UK ambassador to Norway, has expressed frustration at the lack of progress so far.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “They have not accepted that in key areas of our national life we want to be able to control our own laws and do things our way and use the freedom that comes after Brexit.”
“We are not going to be a client state. We are not going to compromise the fundamentals of having control over our own laws.
“We are not going to accept a level playing field provisions that lock us up in the way the EU does things.
“We are not going to accept provisions that give them control over our money or the way we can organize things here in the UK and that shouldn’t be controversial, that’s what being an independent country is all about.”
His comments about Ms. May could be seen as revenge for what he said about his appointment in June, when he questioned his suitability for the new position and called him “a political appointee with no proven experience in national security.”
Analysis: there are many more rounds to fight
By Nick Martin, Political Correspondent
The timing of this article should come as no surprise. Lord Frost knows that he must set a scoreboard before the EU negotiators arrive next week.
And this is an opportunity to prepare his position before meeting face to face with his counterpart Michel Barnier, who lands on Tuesday.
But his mockery of Theresa May is revealing – perhaps it’s a way of disassociating himself from past negotiators, clearing the ground for a new group, and telling Barnier that this time is different.
In terms of negotiation, there are two major conflict points; fishing rights and subsidies to companies.
In his Mail on Sunday article, Lord Frost jokes: “They [EU] they are looking to continue the status quo – they want to have their fish cake and eat it. ”
Humor is often an effective way to undermine your opposition and perhaps a sign of things to come.
This is a bit like when boxers have a press conference before a fight, both sides are full of bravado, drama and theater.
There are many more rounds to fight before a winner can be declared.
