The European Union (EU) offered the United Kingdom on Monday (03.02.2020) to negotiate a "highly ambitious" trade agreement without tariffs or quotas for all goods entering the single market for the future relationship between the two parties. The French politician has presented the European Commission's proposal for guidelines for negotiations with London in the coming months.
«We are prepared to offer a highly ambitious trade agreement as the central pillar of this partnership, including zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods "to enter our single market of 450 million people," declared the Community negotiator for the relationship with the United Kingdom after Brexit, Michel Barnierduring a press conference.
Barnier added that the Brussels proposal also includes services, including business, telecommunications and environmental services, in the free trade agreement, as well as digital trade, intellectual property and access to the UK and EU27 public procurement markets.
Following Brexit, the European Union and the United Kingdom will negotiate their future trade, diplomatic and security relations until the end of 2020.
The EU negotiator acknowledged that there will be "strong competition" between the two parties, and considered that this is "normal", but stressed that the Commission's proposal "makes it clear that this exceptional offer is conditional on at least two things."
"The first is that we have to make sure that competition is and remains open and fair," he said, recalling that it has already been agreed with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the future relationship "will avoid unfair competitive advantages."
"We must now agree on specific and effective guarantees to ensure a level playing field in the long term. This means mechanisms to adhere to the high standards we have at the social, environmental, climate, tax and state aid levels," he continued.
As a second condition for closing the free trade agreement, he said that this agreement must include a fisheries agreement.
"This agreement must maintain continued and reciprocal access to markets and waters" with established quotas, Barnier specified.
Source: Reuters
The adoption of the recommendation will formally authorise the Commission to negotiate as a Union.
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