- Staff Notice
Michel Barnier has said Theresa May's plan for a future trade relationship with the EU could weaken the single market and create burdens for business.
The EU Brexit negotiator said the White Paper opened "the way to a constructive discussion" but must be "workable".
He questioned whether UK plans for a common rulebook for goods and agri-foods were practical.
The UK's new Brexit secretary says he is still persuading other cabinet ministers that the government strategy for leaving the EU is the "best plan."
Dominic Raab told the Sunday Telegraph the prime minister's blueprint for leaving the EU was "pragmatic."
Jacob Rees-Mogg has said Britain is heading for a no-deal exit from the EU, and that leaving on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms is now likely.
Presenting a phone-in on LBC, the prominent Tory MP and hardline Brexiter said: “I think we are heading to WTO and I think WTO is nothing to be frightened of.
“I think we should carry on negotiating until the end. I don’t think we necessarily need the theatrics of walking away, but the truth is that WTO is likely to be all that they will offer us.”
DAVID DAVIS has urged the Prime Minister to tear up her Brexit White Paper and “start again” in an explosive interview in which he lays bare the inside story of Britain’s fraught negotiations with the EU.
Reese-Mogg, along with other Brexiteers like IDS, appear to be supporting the PM for now. DD thinks there's still time to change tact. Some of May's cabinet like Leadsom are talking about quitting and as the first story I've linked to says, Barnier is not happy with May's plan.
Where do we go from here?
May's plan is already watered down, but Barnier is saying this common rule book is not in keeping with the rules of the single market, even though that is exactly what it is in all but name. DD, Boris still think there is hope for something better, but we are running out of time fast. Any deal must be ratified by all the parliaments of the EU before Brexit day, but there has to be a deal for them to agree to in the first place.
Is the UK heading for a no-deal Brexit?