EU leaders ‘divided and distracted’ ahead of next month’s crunch trade talks, say British officials 

Brussels is in total disarray over next month’s crunch trade talks with the UK – because the EU is ‘divided and distracted’ by issues such as whether Britain should be forced to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, Government sources have said.

As Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator prepares to publish on Thursday the official Government demands for the talks, UK negotiators have been privately mocking the delays and confusion in the Brussels camp.

David Frost will demand a Canada-style trade deal which allows the UK to diverge from Brussels’ rules – and refute the EU’s insistence on retaining control over British tax rules and state subsidies.

Brussels triggered a diplomatic row with London last week by threatening to demand the return of the Parthenon sculptures as part of a free trade deal – something Downing Street says is ‘just not happening’.

EU countries are also embroiled in acrimonious negotiations over the £63 billion hole left in the EU’s 2021-2027 budget by Britain’s departure, with the remaining countries bickering over the sharp increases they are expected to contribute.

The first round of negotiations between the EU and the UK is due to start on March 2, although the publication date for the EU’s mandate has already slipped by a fortnight to Tuesday as they argue over which demands to make.

A trade deal with the EU must be secured by the end of this year to avoid a No Deal Brexit. Washington is also planning to publish its demands for a free trade deal at the start of March.

A source in Taskforce Europe, the UK’s negotiating team, said that the UK mandate would be ‘consistent in its ambition for a future relationship based on friendly co-operation between sovereign equals’.

Mr Frost set out the UK’s position in a lecture in Brussels last week – published on these pages – which the source said had ‘calmed nerves’ in the Government and helped to unite Ministers around the official negotiating position.

The source said: ‘On the UK side, progress has been remarkably smooth, with a clear decision-making framework in place and a sense of unity among Ministers.

‘By contrast, the EU seem divided, distracted by other issues like marbles, instead of the important decisions on what our trading relationship will actually look like. The new plan is for them to approve their mandate on February 25 but it’s anyone’s guess whether they will.

‘Taskforce Europe has hit the ground running with over 40 dedicated officials – the best and brightest in their fields from across Whitehall. This is in contrast to the process of agreeing the EU’s mandate, which so far looks to be hamstrung by indecision and delay due to the competing interests of different member states.

‘They have still not agreed a mandate, and now have to focus on agreeing their budget for the next seven years.’

The row over the marbles, which are housed in the British Museum, blew up after a leaked draft of Brussels’ mandate was revealed to include a stipulation that Britain should ‘return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin’.

But a Government spokesman said: ‘The UK’s position on the Parthenon sculptures remains unchanged. They are the legal responsibility of the British Museum. That is not up for discussion as part of our trade negotiations.’

In his lecture, Mr Frost told how he has started his diplomatic career in Brussels in 1993 as ‘a typical pro-European’ but ‘that view did not long survive’.

Downing Street source said: ‘We left the EU on January 31 in line with the referendum result. We regain full independence for the people of the UK at the end of this year: the negotiation is about defining the terms on which we do that.’