EU "would block trade deal if Britain renounces Brexit bill" | News from the world

The European Union would refuse to negotiate a trade deal with the UK if the government renounced the Brexit bill, EU sources said.

At the G7 summit in Biarritz, Boris Johnson said it was "a mere statement of reality" that the UK would refuse much of the 39 billion financial settlement £ agreed by Theresa May, in case of no agreement.

Sources in Brussels have warned that future trade negotiations will be blocked until the UK accepts a settlement.

The Financial Regulation was a "totemic" issue for EU Member States, said one official. "The message will be:" honor your debts, or we will not even start talking about a trade agreement, "said the source, reflecting the widespread opinion among diplomats.

In response to comments from the Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Piris, former head of the EU Council's Legal Department, tweeted: "If the UK refuses to pay its debts to the EU, the EU will not agree to negotiate a trade agreement with the government. " UNITED KINGDOM."

If Britain leaves the EU without an agreement, the withdrawal agreement negotiated between Theresa May and the EU would collapse, including the transition period to facilitate the transition to the new UK statute. . EU sources insist that the key provisions – money, citizens' rights and the Irish border – should be agreed as a precondition for the opening of trade negotiations.

But the British government could also face new demands from countries hard hit by a chaotic non-agreement. Diplomats expect France and other coastal states to strive to make fishing an essential condition for opening negotiations on a future trade agreement. "The EU reserves the right to extend the list", [of phase one issues] the source said. "The first competitor will be fishing because the Member States will have to face very, very angry fishing communities."

Fishing is an area in which the EU is likely to lose more than the UK from a non-agreement: EU-based fleets land about eight times more fish from British waters than British fishermen in the waters of the EU27.

But the UK would be under intense pressure from companies to conclude a trade deal with the EU, its main trading partner. Britain makes about half of its trade with the EU – the bloc accounts for 46% of UK exports and 54% of its imports. Over the weekend, Johnson insisted that the UK "can easily cope with a no-deal scenario".

Sources on both sides of Brexit divide the fear that it might take a long time to recover the pieces of acrimonious outing without agreement. Once the UK leaves the EU, any new agreement will have to be ratified by the national parliaments, which could take years.

The Prime Minister insisted that it was up to the EU27 to avoid any agreement. "If we go out without agreement, it is certainly true that the £ 39 billion are no longer, strictly speaking, due," he said. "Our country will have very substantial sums to spend on our priorities," he told broadcasters. "It's not a threat. It's a simple statement of reality. "

In reality, the £ 39 billion – a British calculation never confirmed by the EU – no longer exists. This figure was based on a departure day of March 29th. The UK remaining a member of the EU, it has continued to contribute to the EU budget by reducing its bill for Brexit. The Financial Regulation includes the UK contribution up to the end of 2020, as well as a UK share of EU staff pensions and EU28 draft spending plans.