Liam Fox says EU 'putting ideology before wellbeing of citizens' after Barnier snubs Chequers plan
3 min read
Liam Fox has accused the EU of putting "political ideology" ahead of its citizens' economic wellbeing after Michel Barnier rejected the central plank of Theresa May's Brexit blueprint.
The EU's chief negotiator said the Prime Minister's plan to strike a customs deal which would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of Brussels was a non-starter.
"The EU cannot and the EU will not delegate the application of its customs policy and rules, VAT and excises duty collection to a non-member who would not be subject to the EU's governance structures," he said.
But speaking to Buisness Insider, Dr Fox warned that ordinary Europeans would end up suffering if Brussels does not compromise on its hardline stance and the UK leaves without a deal.
The International Trade Secretary, who campaigned for Leave in the EU referendum, said: "They [the EU] simply don't want to make this particular method work.
"So it's clear that it is possible, but it requires political will to do so. The question will be whether the EU 27 leaders are willing to see the Commission's political ideology put ahead of the economic wellbeing of the people of Europe.
"What the Commission seems to be saying is look, there has to be Brexit on their terms, or no deal at all.
"Now, that may be in line with their own theological attachment to ever-closer union and EU treaties but it may have a large cost to EU member states, the member states who require jobs, prosperity, and trade, because they need to get elected, unlike the Commission officials."
Dr Fox added: "The EU then need to tell us how they intend to get the frictionless borders that we want to see. So they can't keep rejecting things without telling us exactly what it is they want.
"So negotiations will continue, and we'll want to know from them if they don't want that as a proposal, what do they want, because if they keep saying no to everything they will end up with no deal."
ARTICLE 50
The Cabinet minister also warned the Prime Minister that any attempt to extend the Article 50 process would be a "complete betrayal" of the referendum result.
Speculation is mounting that Mrs May could be forced to seek an extension as the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal grows.
But Dr Fox said: "The public have told us, it wasn't a consultation, to leave the European Union, and the public already wonders why it's going to take more than four years after the referendum for us to fully remove ourselves from the EU.
"To attempt to extend our membership even longer, many voters would regard as a complete betrayal by the political class, and I think they would be right."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
