Brexit: London to refuse EU rules

The British government will not accept that the European Union impose certain rules on the environment, labor law or state aid in its future relationship with the continent, warned the British negotiator on Brexit on Monday , David Frost.

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" It is essential for us to be able to establish laws that suit us, to claim the right that any other non-EU country has in the world, " he said during a speech at the university. Free of Brussels (ULB). “ It is not just a negotiating position that could change under pressure. This is the very objective of the whole project, "insisted the negotiator from the United Kingdom, who entered since his departure from the EU on December 31 in a transition period until the end of the year.

"Equal relationship"

David Frost's eagerly awaited speech comes at a time when EU member states are drawing up a mandate for their own negotiator, Michel Barnier, setting their objectives and their red lines in the negotiations. Europeans want the United Kingdom to commit to the future relationship to respect the same rules as the EU, or even to adapt " over time " in several areas (environment, competition, taxation, labor law ...) in order to avoid distortions of competition, in exchange for privileged access to the European market.

These guarantees seem essential to Europeans given the geographic and economic proximity of the United Kingdom. The EU would also like the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to keep the last word to interpret Union law in the event of a dispute between London and Brussels. “To think that we could accept EU supervision over so-called level playing field (editor's note) is not to understand the value of what we are doing ”, a commented David Frost. " How would you react if the United Kingdom demanded that, in order to protect itself, the EU should harmonize in a dynamic way with our national laws decided in Westminster and the decisions of our own regulators and courts? He asked.

The United Kingdom negotiator recalled that London hoped to conclude a free trade agreement of the same type as those recently negotiated by the EU with Canada or Japan. " In short, all we want is what other independent countries benefit from ," he said. " If it is therefore true, as our friends at the Commission and the 27 have told us, that the EU wants a lasting and viable relationship (...), the only way to progress is to rely on this approach of a relationship of equals , ”he concluded. Negotiations between London and Brussels are expected to start in early March and be completed by the end of the year.