EU gets rid of 'punishment clause' from Brexit transition draft
2 min read
EU officials have reportedly removed a so-called 'punishment clause' from the draft Brexit transition arrangement.
The BBC reports that officials have agreed to re-word the document so it no longer refers to the UK potentially losing access to elements of the single market if it breaks EU rules.
It comes after Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned last week that a transition deal might not happen if the two sides could not reconcile their differences.
The EU wants the UK to continue to abide by all its rules and regulations during the two-year period, including allowing continued free movement of people from the continent.
Yesterday Boris Johnson suggested the Government had accepted a 'status quo' transition, telling reporters that "things will remain as they are" during the transition, which the EU wants to finish at the end of 2020.
According to today's reports, officials from the other 27 EU member states agreed at a meeting yesterday to tone down the wording of the draft agreement so that it only refers to normal EU infringement rules, without any special punitive elements for the UK deal.
ALIGNMENT
Within the Cabinet, ministers have also apparently been at odds over the extent to which the UK aligns with Brussels regulations after Brexit.
At a speech in London yesterday, the Foreign Secretary strongly hinted he would prefer a system where the UK starts from a point where it has entirely separate rules, then decides areas where the Government wants to mirror the EU.
"It’s all about voluntarism, it’s all about who decides. Of course when it comes to EU standards for washing machines or hair dryers or vacuum cleaners or whatever it may very well make sense for us to remain in alignment as a matter of choice, something we elect to do," Mr Johnson said.
"I'm sure for the purposes of supply chains, there are many businesses who understand the need for that. But I don’t think we should necessarily commit as a matter of treaty that forever and a day we are going to remain locked into permanent congruence with the EU.
"It just doesn't seem to me to be a sensible thing to do. If you're going to come out then you might as well take the advantages of difference."
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