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The European Union will reject a future Labour government’s Brexit plan unless it agrees to a return to free movement, the bloc’s former negotiator has warned.
‘No cherry-picking’
Former deal negotiator Michel Barnier insisted Brussels would maintain a block on attempts to “cherry-pick” from its single markets without signing up to the corresponding obligations in an interview with The Telegraph.
His intervention will come as a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to ease trade restrictions by revisiting Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. The Labour leader has previously described the terms of that agreement as “botched” and “not good enough”.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said last week that Labour would seek closer alignment with EU rules in areas like chemicals and a better deal for City of London bankers.
Despite wanting to build closer ties with Brussels, she insisted Labour would not rejoin the single market or customs union or sign up to freedom of movement. Barnier, who negotiated Britain’s split from the EU and the future trade agreement, said that the bloc would welcome fresh talks but would not ease its previous red lines.
“It is one thing to say that we can revisit the relationship between the UK and the EU, and in the same spirit we can improve the relationship. “But it is another thing to say we can open the single market. Any UK government – the current one or the future one – knows the rules of the single market, you cannot be in and out at the same time, he said.
Tough stance
During his tenure as the EU’s Brexit negotiator between 2016 and 2021, Barnier maintained a tough stance against picking out elements of EU membership without signing up to the necessary obligations. He said a future Labour government could sign rafts of new EU agreements if it was willing to align with the bloc’s rules in those areas.
“There are a lot of sectors where we can complete trade agreements and open new negotiations between the UK and EU. The main ones are obviously linked to the current situation in Ukraine and Europe with the war, the risk of terrorism, the stability all around us, I think we must, it is in our common interest to open a new negotiation.”
