Displaying items by tag: Barnier

Jean-Claude Juncker has asked Britain to table ‘operable proposals in writing’ to the Irish Backstop. On 19 September the UK gave the EU written suggested solutions ‘reflecting the ideas the UK has put forward’ saying that the UK will table ‘formal written solutions when we are ready and not to an artificial deadline’. The UK will accept an all-Ireland food and agricultural zone to avoid the need for many checks, but Barnier said that the EU must control products arriving to the single market, insisting Brexit must include the backstop or equivalent legally-binding guarantees. The EU parliament will never accept any agreement giving the UK advantages of free trade without aligning with European standards. ‘We are not stupid, we will not kill our own companies.’ Nigel Farage said Barnier’s objective is ‘keeping us trapped inside, fearing - if we break out of the single market - we would become wealthier outside the EU’.

European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday 20 July that a ‘fundamental divergence’ with Britain remained on how to protect expats’ rights after Brexit, and insisted that the European Court of Justice should be the guarantor of the rights of citizens living abroad. Also, in a joint news conference with British Brexit secretary David Davis, he said Britain needed to provide clarification on the Brexit bill and on the Irish border at the next round of talks in late August. Expats’ rights, the financial settlement, and the Irish border are the three key issues to be solved before the EU is willing to begin talks on a future trade deal with Britain.