BRUSSELS has accused British politicians of pinning a “blame game” on the EU over the prospect of a no-deal Brexit as it made clear it would not compromise on its fundamental principles such as protecting the single market.
As the talks enter their final phase, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said there would now be “continuous” negotiations until the deadline, which he appeared to extend from the mid-October European Council to early November.
Following the latest round of talks in the Belgian capital, Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, insisted with ambition and application, as well as compromise, both sides could “get over the line” but he pointed to how there were still some significant issues to overcome, not least the Irish border.
Tomorrow, he will make a speech on the subject of preparing for a no-deal Brexit as the UK Government publishes the first tranche of technical notices, advising the public, businesses and public bodies about what to do in the event of failure.
Following the latest round of talks, Mr Barnier addressed a brief joint press conference, telling reporters: “To be very frank I do see a blame game starting against the EU in case of a no-deal. The EU will not be impressed by a blame game and everyone should understand that."
Asked about compromise, the EU’s negotiator made clear the bloc would not change its principles during the negotiations, declaring: "Why would we? The UK is leaving the European Union, it is not the other way around.”
He went on: "The UK is leaving and it is their choice and we respect that choice whilst regretting it. But the European Union is based on principles and values, on rules. It is a whole ecosystem which is integrated of rules and laws and standards, of supervision and of certification...which the UK knows very very well because we built it together, didn't we?
"We have been building it over some 40 or so years together. So those principles will remain our principles because that is the way it is. They are the principles we have been working on and on which the single market is based."
Nonetheless, Mr Barnier said it was still possible for both sides to find "common ground".
“We are far more advanced in defining that common ground for foreign policy and security than the economic relationship," he noted.
Mr Raab, ahead of his speech and the Government advice, denounced what he called were “hair-raising scare stories” about a no-deal, which he suggested would be debunked.
The Secretary of State said he would meet with Mr Barnier again next week as the intensity of negotiations increased.
He explained: "There are still some significant issues to overcome - yes on Northern Ireland, we both recognise that - but also on the future relationship.
"It's important to view the whole deal as a package. We agreed that we need to step up the intensity of the negotiations as we come into the final phase and we have agreed to meet regularly and resolve at the political level those outstanding issues that remain under technical consideration."
Mr Raab also confirmed the essence of leaked Whitehall documents, that in the event of a no-deal, the rights of EU citizens would be protected. He told the BBC: "There is absolutely no question that we are going to see EU citizens turfed out."
Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, speaking at the launch in London of the Government’s new strategy to boost exports, insisted Britain had the potential to become a “21st century exporting superpower” but must widen its horizons beyond Brexit.
“It’s really important that we don’t have such a narrow bandwidth that we only think about Brexit,” he declared.
“It’s really interesting when I go to China and other parts of the world and talk about the global economy, tariffs, the US and China, the WTO and in the UK we talk about Brexit, Brexit and Brexit. It’s an important issue but it’s not the only issue in terms of global trade.”
The Scot explained that what the strategy was trying to do was to “widen our horizons, to lengthen our timeframes”.
He noted: "Our competitors are not thinking about next year or the year after. They are thinking in five, 10, 15-year timescales about how they can improve their global position."
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