If agreed with Brussels, the government claims the new plan would solve the Irish border issue, making it easier for the U.K. to agree to the EUs so-called backstop clause because it would never come into effect. <\/p>\n
However, the Cabinet also agreed to step up preparations for a \u201cno-deal\u201d scenario given the possibility the EU could reject the latest proposal, a statement released by the government said. <\/p>\n
The announcement came after almost 10 hours of intense discussion at Chequers, the prime ministers official country residence, throughout the day Friday.<\/p>\n
Mays declaration \u2014 released alongside a lengthy communiqu\u00e9 setting out the main tenets of the agreement \u2014 appeared to blindside senior government officials in London, who said it had been put out while Cabinet ministers mobile phones were still locked away for security reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe steamrolled this through,\u201d said one senior government official who predicted there would be uproar among Tory MPs when the details became clear over the weekend. The official said the communiqu\u00e9 had not changed much from the prime ministers initial proposal<\/a>, which was circulated among Cabinet ministers on Thursday.<\/p>\n By forcing through the agreement, May risks a serious split with leading Brexiteers in her Cabinet, including Brexit Secretary David Davis, who has found himself increasingly isolated amid the growing influence of the prime ministers chief EU adviser Olly Robbins. <\/p>\n According to one official, Davis is deeply unhappy with the deal agreed Friday and made his position clear.<\/p>\n Davis warned the Cabinet the proposals are \u201cnot compatible\u201d with the prime ministers pledge to take back control of laws that apply in the U.K. or the ability to strike independent trade deals after Brexit. <\/p>\n Davis attacked the proposal to agree \u201charmonization\u201d with EU law on goods and agriculture, which he said is \u201cfundamentally different\u201d to the previous policy of \u201cequivalence outcomes,\u201d which would allow the U.K. to set its own regulation. <\/p>\n Davis also warned the proposal leaves the government in a \u201ctrap\u201d that if it ever rejects future EU laws on goods, the whole EU-U.K. agreement could collapse.<\/p>\n \u201cIts the Swiss trap<\/a> Olly has walked the prime minister into,\u201d one senior official said, referring to the series of bilateral agreements Switzerland has agreed with the EU, which collapse if the government in Bern breaks any single element of the deal. \u201cA lot of Brexiteers are going to be very, very cross about this. Shes going to have a big problem.\u201d<\/p>\n In the prime ministers statement, however, May said the new \u201ccollective position\u201d protects all the governments red lines.<\/p>\n \u201cOur proposal will create a U.K.-EU free trade area which establishes a common rule book for industrial goods and agricultural products. This maintains high standards in these areas, but we will also ensure that no new changes in the future take place without the approval of our parliament,\u201d Mays statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a result, we avoid friction in terms of trade, which protects jobs and livelihoods, as well as meeting our commitments in Northern Ireland. We have also agreed a new business-friendly customs model with freedom to strike new trade deals around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The prime minister said it is now imperative to \u201cmove at pace to negotiate our proposal with the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n The EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier gave a guarded welcome to the new U.K. position on Twitter<\/a>. \u201cI look forward to White Paper,\u201d he wrote referring to the U.K. governments detailed Brexit position expected next week. \u201cWe will assess proposals to see if they are workable & realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the day though, in a speech in Brussels, he had emphasized the importance of the EU single market<\/a> as \u201cthe heart of the European project\u201d and said that its rules are indivisible \u2014 something that on the face of it, Mays plan would require.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be no damage to it,\u201d said the EU negotiator. \u201cThere will be no unraveling of what weve achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of the U.K. governments proposal had been leaked during the week.<\/p>\n A separate statement released by the government admitted the U.K.s opening offer last year of a \u201cdeep and special relationship\u201d needed to \u201cevolve in order to provide a precise, responsible and credible basis for progressing negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe therefore agreed to a more developed and comprehensive proposal for the economic partnership,\u201d the statement read. \u201cAt the core of this proposal is the establishment by the U.K. and the EU of a free trade area for goods.\u201d<\/p>\n Details of the new plan will be set out in an official paper next week.<\/p>\n For services, restrictions would be imposed, limiting access to each others markets. But that, warned Julian David, CEO of techUK, would have \u201cvery real consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the U.K. tech sector does not see clear benefits of divergence with EU standards on services. \u201cA goods only approach would risk U.K.-based tech firms selling into Europe having to comply with two competing regulatory regimes and being unable to guarantee that services can be provided on the same terms to customers in different locations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch a deal also ignores the increasing number of goods that rely on a services contract to operate where divergence would make it harder for UK digital-services businesses to be part of European supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n The Institute of Directors lobby group welcomed the \u201cunited front\u201d from the Cabinet. \u201cThe more clarity we have on the future trading relationship, the easier it will be for business to plan ahead. We hope today will turn quickly into progress in negotiations, and clarity for business on the path ahead,\u201d said Director General Stephen Martin.<\/p>\n The U.K. has also conceded a \u201cjoint institutional framework\u201d to interpret the EU-U.K. agreement. \u201cThis would be done in the U.K. by U.K. courts, and in the EU by EU courts \u2014 with due regard paid to EU case law,\u201d the government statement states.<\/p>\n In a further concession, the U.K. will pledge not to let regulatory standards for the environment, climate change, social and employment, and consumer protection fall below their current levels.<\/p>\n In a nod to Cabinet Brexiteers, the government statement insists the U.K. will leave the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy, deliver an independent trade policy \u2014 \u201dincluding seeking accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership\u201d \u2014 end free movement and end \u201cvast\u201d annual payments to the EU budget.<\/p>\n However, the paper includes a reference to a new \u201cmobility framework\u201d so \u201cU.K. and EU citizens can continue to travel to each others territories, and apply for study and work.\u201d<\/p>\n Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n [contf] [contfnew] LONDON \u2014 Theresa May has a deal. How long it lasts is anothe..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nRift with Davis<\/h3>\n
New plan<\/h3>\n
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