Britain to produce a draft EU free trade deal before the next round of post-Brexit talks with Brussels in just nine days’ time as European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tells the UK to ‘make up its mind’
- Michael Gove made the announcement amid a stand-off between the two sides
- UK wants Canada-style free trade agreement but the EU wants closer alignment
- It demands ‘level playing field’ on workers’ rights, green rules and state subsidies
Britain is planning to present the EU with a draft free trade deal within the next nine days, it was revealed today.
Michael Gove made the announcement amid a bitter stand-off between the two sides over a wide-range of issues after last week’s first round of talks in Brussels.
The second round of talks begins in London on March 18, where they will seek to find common ground over issues including fishing rights and the so-called ‘level playing field’.
In a written statement today regarding last week’s talks, Cabinet Office Minister Mr Gove said: ‘Discussions in some areas identified a degree of common understanding of the ground that future talks could cover.
‘In other areas, notably fisheries, governance and dispute settlement, and the so-called ”level playing field”, there were, as expected, significant differences.
‘The next negotiating round will take place on 18-20 March in London.
‘The UK expects to table a number of legal texts, including a draft FTA, beforehand.’
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged there were ‘differences in the approach’ between the two sides following the first round of negotiations.
The UK’s Brexit envoy David Frost echoed the message, tweeting: ‘We will table legal texts including a draft FTA before Round 2 next week.’
It came as Brussels called on the UK to ‘make up its mind’ on the kind of post-Brexit deal it wants.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged there were ‘differences in the approach’ between the two sides following the first round of negotiations.
The UK has set out its aim for a free trade agreement along the lines of the one the EU has with Canada, but Brussels has called for a closer relationship including a ‘level playing field’ for areas including workers’ rights, environmental protections and state subsidies to ensure fair competition between the neighbouring economies.
At a press conference marking her first 100 days as president, Ms von der Leyen said ‘we know what each side is standing for’ but later claimed that the UK needed to think about the economic trade-offs it was willing to accept if it breaks away from EU rules.
Her comments are likely to frustrate the UK side, which believes it has been clear about the more limited arrangement it is seeking from the EU in the negotiations.
Boris Johnson’s blueprint for the negotiations indicates the UK could walk away unless the ‘broad outline’ of a deal is clear by the end of June.
Asked whether there would be a ‘landing zone’ for a deal in June, the commission president told reporters in Brussels: ‘I think now we both have presented our negotiation mandates, you know that we want to be very ambitious, we want to have a very good relationship with our British friends.
‘We are are aware that there are differences in the approach towards what scope should the future agreement have and what are – if I may say so – the rules of the game everybody has to abide to.
‘So it will be important that the UK makes up its mind – the closer they want to have access to the single market, the more they have to play by the rules that are the rules of the single market.
‘If this is not the UK’s choice then of course they will be more distant and it will be more difficult for the UK to access the single market.
‘So I think it’s up to the UK within the negotiations to think about the trade-offs they want to take into account.’